Right-hand man to al-Baghdadi killed in Syria: Kurdish leader

The right-hand man to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a joint operation of US and Kurdish fighters in Syria hours after the Islamic State terror leader blew himself up during a raid conducted by US special forces, a Kurdish commander said.

Abu Hassan al-Muhajir, who also served as a spokesman for the terror group, was targeted near a village near Jarablus in northern Syria, said the commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, Gen. Mazloum Abdi, in a tweet.

President Trump on Sunday announced the death of al-Baghdadi following a raid on his compound in northern Syria, saying the jihadist leader blew himself up with a suicide vest while trying to escape US fighters.

The operation was conducted near midnight Saturday in Idlib province — an area that contains a stew of extremist organizations.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group based in Britain, said al-Muhajir was killed while traveling in a convoy that included a fuel tanker and a car.

A spokesman for the Kurds, Mustafa Bali, told the Associated Press they believe al-Muhajir was in the region to assist al-Baghdadi.

“More (IS figures) remain hiding in the area,” Bali said.