BAGHDAD — The Islamic State (I.S.) militant in charge of the group’s oil operations in Iraq and Syria was killed on Thursday in a joint operation between the Iraqi Kurdish and U.S. Special forces, the Kurdistan Region Security Council said in a statement.
Sami Jassim al-Jabouri, also known as Haji Hamad, and his aide were killed “in the vicinity of Qaim,” an Iraqi town near the Syrian border, the statement said.
A Pentagon spokesman said coalition forces conducted a combined operation against an I.S. “associated target” in Iraq on Aug. 11 but were assessing the results of the operation.
“The mission was coordinated with and approved by the Government of Iraq and conducted in partnership with Iraqi Security Forces,” said Adrian Rankine-Galloway, a Pentagon spokesman.
Kurdish peshmerga fighters are actively engaged in the fight against I.S., the ultra-hardline Sunni militants who proclaimed a “caliphate” over parts of Iraq and Syria.
The Kurdish self-rule region in northern Iraq also hosts a base used by troops from the U.S.-led coalition assisting Iraqi forces in the war on the militants.
MAHER CHMAYTELLI