A U.S. official announced on Thursday that senior ISIS leader Tariq al-Harzi, known as the “emir of suicide bombers,” was killed by a targeted coalition airstrike in Syria last month.
Al-Harzi was a prominent logistician for the terror group, coordinating efforts to move jihadists and weapons into Iraq and Syria to keep the militant organization’s war machine humming, according to intelligence officials.
Born in Tunisia, Al-Harzi is believed to be one of the first foreign fighters to join ISIS. In addition to helping with logistics he was also responsible for the Sunni extremist group’s highly effective use of suicide and car bombs in Iraq, the U.S. Department of Defense confirmed.
“This was a big get,” said Mike Rogers, former chairman of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee. “It will be very disruptive to their operation for at least some period of time.”
Department of Defense spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis confirmed that Al-Harzi was killed in Shaddadi, Syria, on June 16th.
The State Department offered a $3 million reward for information on his whereabouts ever since he was placed on the U.S. Designated Terrorist List last year.
The Pentagon killed al-Harzi’s brother in an airstrike in Mosul, Iraq, on June 15th.
The U.S. government had called him “a person of interest” in the deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept 11, 2012 and the more junior terrorist had also been responsible for coordinating ISIS’ moves into North Africa.
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