‘Major victory’: Hussein aide-turned ISIS leader reportedly killed in Iraq

A former aide to late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and a leader of Iraq’s insurgency, Ezzat Ibrahim al-Douri, may have been killed by Iraqi forces and Shi'ite militias involved in an operation against Islamic State forces, said Raed al-Jubouri, the governor of Salahuddin province. State television broadcast a photo of a dead man who looked like al-Douri. Al-Jubouri called it a “major victory” for the operation.

[al-Douri] is considered a mastermind for this terrorist group. For sure this will have an impact on them.

Raed al-Jubouri, the governor of Salahuddin province in Iraq

Baghdad has mounted an offensive against Islamic State and former Baathists once loyal to Saddam Hussein to retake territory in Iraq’s Sunni heartland captured by jihadists last summer. Al-Douri was believed to be a key figure in that insurgency. While Baghdad has announced al-Douri’s death several times before, this time photos were circulating showing a man with similar features and red hair like al-Douri’s. DNA from the body will be tested to confirm it is al-Jubouri.

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