War on terror

Hard-to-Kill IS Commander Targeted by Pentagon July 10

A savvy and effective Islamic State terror group commander with a penchant for surviving U.S. airstrikes was the target again this past Sunday, according to the Pentagon.

Defense officials confirmed Thursday they targeted Abu Omar al-Shishani, also known as "Omar the Chechen," in a strike July 10 during a meeting of IS officials south of Mosul.

A spokesman said officials were still assessing the results of the airstrike.

Shishani was reported killed Wednesday by the Aamaq News Agency, an IS-linked organization. Aamaq said Shishani was killed in the town of Shirqat while trying to "halt the military campaign" against the self-declared caliphate's Iraqi capital of Mosul. IS had previously denied claims Shishani had been killed.

U.S. and coalition forces have targeted Shishani numerous times, including in an airstrike March 4 in al-Shaddadi, Syria, initially deemed to have been successful.