Russian air strike kills top IS commanders in Syria, officials confirm
Moscow — Russia has claimed to have killed several top commanders of Islamic State (IS) in an airstrike in Syria, including the so-called Emir of Deir Ezzor and the "minister of war". "As a result of a precision airstrike of the Russian air forces in the vicinity of Deir Ezzor city, a command post, communication centre and some 40 IS fighters have been killed," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement on Facebook. "According to confirmed data, among the killed fighters are four influential field commanders including Deir Ezzor emir Abu Mohammed al-Shimali," the ministry said. Gulmurod Khalimov, a native of Tajikistan who is known as the IS group’s minister of war, suffered a "fatal injury", the ministry added. Khalimov headed the Tajik interior ministry’s special forces unit before joining IS in 2015. Backed by Russia, Syrian troops on Tuesday broke through a years-long siege imposed by IS militants on tens of thousands of civilians in Deir Ezzor. AFP
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