
Three senior members of ISIS have been killed in a US airstrike in northern Iraq, according to senior security officials.

Two days after a video showing the execution of US journalist Steven Sotloff was released, US warplanes struck at the heart of ISIS in Mosul, northern Iraq, killing the wanted jihadist Abu Hajar Al-Sufi – the right hand man to terror chief, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

At the NATO summit in Wales this afternoon, Secretary of State John Kerry was seen to quietly pass President Obama a note while David Cameron was speaking. Shortly after members of the press were cleared from the conference hall.

The revelation came after Mr Cameron pledged that the militant threatening to murder British aid worker David Haines would 'face justice'. He also urged Nato countries join the UK and America in putting a 'fatal squeeze' on ISIS.

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Mr Obama reads a note passed to him by US Secretary of State John Kerry during talks. The Nato summit has been dominated by the military response to Russian aggression in Ukraine, and the rising terror threat from ISIS

Barack Obama read the note addressed to 'Mr President' as the Prime Minister addressed the Nato conference. Shortly afterwards the press were cleared from the room

The leader of the self-declared Islamic State Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, pictured here delivering a sermon at a mosque in Iraq, was rumoured to have been killed in a US airstrike yesterday. But his right-hand man Abu Hajar Al-Sufi was killed, military sources said today

It has not been confirmed if Mr Obama learned of Al-Sufi's death through Mr Kerry's note, but the President was noticeably absent for the beginning of a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine commission in the early evening at the summit.

A senior Iraqi security official confirmed the news of the deadly air strike to NBC News and is the most significant blow against ISIS since the United States began air strikes last month.

Al Arabiya quoted the Iraqi Defence Ministry to say Baghdadi's aide, an explosives expert and the military leader of the nearby town of Tel Afar also lost their lives in the raid.

The confirmation of the deadly strike demonstrates that the US is clearly targeting ISIS's leadership and clarifies rumours circulating yesterday that al-Baghdadi himself was killed in the raid.

Indeed, multiple sources, including former Iraqi army officers, told the Daily Beast on Wednesday that al-Baghdadi had died in Syria after being seriously injured in an Iraqi or American airstrike in the north of Iraq.

The strike against the terror groups leadership came as Western leaders at the summit ramped up their rhetoric against ISIS.

As Nato leaders gathered in Wales for a two-day summit, Mr Cameron set his sights on the British terrorist - dubbed 'Jihadi John' - who has killed two American journalists on video and has threatened to murder British aid worker David Haines.

He hinted British intelligence services are in touch with the kidnappers but ruled out paying a ransom, as a new poll showed 47 per cent of voters want him to order air strikes.

However, the Prime Minister's insistence of the involvement of the new Iraqi government suggests any action could yet be weeks away.

Twilight zone: The leaders gathered for a moonlit photograph outside Cardiff Castle at the close of the first day of talks in the Welsh capital

US president Barack Obama stands with his arm around Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaite as the leaders conclude the first day's talks regarding Eastern Europe

Pressure: The US president faces pressure to take decisive action on Ukraine, Boko Haram, and ISIS at the annual summit

Beaming: Obama looked delighted at he stood with Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones (left), Welsh First Secretary Stephen Crabb and David Cameron

Elaborate: The head of state were treated to a four-course meal at the opulent Celtic Manor Resort after a day of debates and negotiations...

...while the police on duty outside Cardiff Castle headed to Burger King to grab a more straight-forward meal for their dinner break

It emerged today that Conservative MPs are being canvassed over the possibility of military action against ISIS in Iraq.

Mr Cameron presented a united front with US President Barack Obama today, as they prepared the ground for multi-national air strikes against ISIS and for sending troops to from a Nato training force in Iraq.

But the new Iraqi government is not due to be in place until September 11, meaning an official request for help could be more than a week away.

There is growing public pressure for military intervention in Iraq, and direct action against Mr Haines' captors.

Challenged about whether the murderous militants will ever be caught, Mr Cameron told BBC Radio 5Live: 'The people who do this should know that one way or another they will face justice. I'm absolutely certain that will be the case with this individual as well.'

In two videos posted online showing the murders of US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, their captor appeared with his face covered but spoke with a British accent.

Lord West, a former Navy chief and ex-security minister, described Jihadi John as a 'dead man walking'.

Mr Cameron and Mr Obama insist they will not weaken in the face of threats from ISIS terrorists and warn that democratic nations could not afford to be intimidated in the face of terrorist threats.

The summit at the Celtic Manor Hotel in Newport has been billed as the most important since the Cold War, with members facing global threats on multiple fronts

Danger: British hostage David Haines was captured by militants in the Atmeh camp in March last year. Mr Cameron suggested the UK government has been in contact with the hostage takers, but insisted Britain would not pay a ransom

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen joined Mr Obama and Mr Cameron on stage at the summit but behind the smiles are major concerns about the organisation's ability - and willingness - to respond to security threats

Mr Cameron and Mr Obama have urged other Nato leaders to 'urgently' increase their defence spending to 2 per cent of their GDP, in line with the membership rules of the organisation

There are concerns that some Nato countries benefit from the protection membership brings, but they do not pay their way

Mr Cameron greets German Chancellor Angela Merkel, but has a tough message for her to increase defence spending to more than 2 per cent of GDP in line with Nato rules

France's President Francois Hollande appeared isolated as he chatted on a mobile phone before the start of a meeting on Afghanistan during the summit today

Prime Minister of Denmark Helle Thorning-Schmidt (centre) shares a joke with Mr Rasmussen and Mr Cameron during a round of photographs as the summit got underway

The summit was expected to focus on efforts to repel Russia from Ukraine until the beheading of two US journalists by ISIS militants in Iraq

Mr Cameron and Mr Obama today held talks about Russia with (left to right) France's President Francois Hollande, Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi

SHOULDER TO SHOULDER: KEY LINES FROM CAMERON AND OBAMA ON THE WORLD'S CHALLENGES 'To the east, Russia has ripped up the rulebook with its illegal, self-declared annexation of Crimea and its troops on Ukrainian soil threatening a sovereign nation state. 'To the south, there is an arc of instability from north Africa and the Sahel to the Middle East.' ON FACING THE TERROR THREAT 'We will not waver in our determination to confront Isil. If terrorists think we will weaken in the face of their threats they could not be more wrong. Countries like Britain and America will not be cowed by barbaric killers.' ON UKRAINE AND RUSSIA 'With Russia trying to force a sovereign state to abandon its right to democracy at the barrel of a gun, we should support Ukraine's right to determine its own democratic future and continue our efforts to enhance Ukrainian capabilities.' ON NATO 'Britain and America are two of only four Nato members to meet the target of spending 2 per cent of our GDP on defence and other states must urgently step up their efforts to meet this too.' Advertisement

In a joint article in The Times today,the Prime Minister and the President Obama vowed 'we will not waver in our determination to confront ISIL'.

'If terrorists think we will weaken in the face of their threats they could not be more wrong,' they said.

'Countries like Britain and America will not be cowed by barbaric killers.

'We will be more forthright in the defence of our values, not least because a world of greater freedom is a fundamental part of how we keep our own people safe.'

They added: 'Those who believe in stepping back and adopting an isolationist approach misunderstand the nature of security in the 21st century.

'Developments in other parts of the world, particularly in Iraq and Syria threaten our security at home.

'And Nato is not just an alliance of friends who come to the aid of each other in times of need, it is also an alliance based on national self-interest.

'Whether it is regional aggression going unchecked or the prospect that foreign fighters could return from Iraq and Syria to pose a threat in our countries, the problems we face today threaten the security of British and American people, and the wider world.

Mr Cameron added: 'Let's be clear about the scale of the problem. We have something like 500 British people who have travelled to Syria and Iraq to take part in these horrors.'

He insisted the government had already taken action to deal with the threats.'We have confiscated people's passports, Syria-related arrests are up five-fold over the last year.

'We have prosecuted, convicted and imprisoned tens, hundreds of people over the last five years for extremism, for terrorism and we will continue to do that.'

Mr Cameron insisted there must be a multi-national effort to crush the jihadist forces. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'We face a threat from this organisation. We need to take every action we can domestically and then work with partners to put a fatal squeeze on this organisation.'

He stressed that Britain was already working to support the Kurds on the ground in Iraq, and just last night a British Hercules plane landed in Irbil to provide vital body armour for those forces.

But he refused to rule out Britain joining the US in launching missile attacks on ISIS bases.

He told ITV's Good Morning Britain: 'I'm certainly not ruling anything out and I will always act in the British national interest.

'What I would say, though, is this - I think it is very important that Western intervention isn't over the heads of those locally trying to fight this organisation and isn't done against the wishes and against the work of regional partners. That is sometimes the mistake that has been made in the past.'

Outside the high-security ring of skill, hundreds of protesters joined a march against the summit. Around 500 people marched from the Cenotaph in the city centre towards the Celtic Manor venue, where the world leaders are meeting.

Along the three mile route many members of the public watched and took pictures and videos on their mobile phones as the protesters walked past.

Among the anti-Nato campaigners were members of the Socialist Party, Socialist Worker Party, Stop the War Coalition and the Red Block, a communist group, who were dressed in black wearing masks.

Outside ring of steel, protesters clashed with a mobile police cordon as they demonstrated against the Nato Summit

Opponents of further military action in Iraq waved placards urging the 60 leaders to reject intervention, as Mr Cameron said he would rule nothing out in the battle against extremism

During a march through the streets of Newport several people waved the flag of Palestine

A French warship moored in Cardiff Bay as a show of strength during the summit, where France's commitment to Nato has been in the spotlight

In adition to fears about the threat posed by ISIS, the summit has also focussed on continued Russian aggression towards Ukraine.

The European Union is set to unveil a fresh package of sanctions against Russia as western leaders staged a show of support for the Ukrainian government.

British government sources said that the EU would unveil measures in Brussels tomorrow - including sanctions targeting state-owned Russian defence and energy companies.

They will also look to strengthen existing measures against state-owned banks and extend controls on the sale of military equipment to cover dual-use civilian military kit.

It is expected that the White House will announce similar measures against Moscow.

One source said they were designed to force Mr Putin 'to the negotiating table and off the battlefield' in eastern Ukraine.

Earlier, Mr Cameron said that existing sanctions were already hurting the Russian economy.

'It is making a difference. The Russian economy was growing, it is now shrinking. Russian banks - some of them are getting short of money. The Russian stock market, the rouble, have suffered,' he told BBC1 Breakfast.

'What Russia needs to understand is that if they continue with this approach. In Ukraine, this pressure will be ramped up.

'The Ukrainians know that they have our support and this sanctions pressure is the right way to tell the Russians that what they are doing is unacceptable.'

This morning Mr Cameonr and Mr Obama went on a visit to Mount Pleasant Primary School in Newport

Mr Obama was a huge hit with pupils as he greeted them in Welsh with: 'Bore da!'

The two men are using the Nato summit to call on allies to increase defence spending

BRITAIN IS IN CONTACT WITH HOSTAGE TAKERS, CAMERON HINTS Britain is in contact with the terrorists holding aid worker David Haines, David Cameron appeared to suggest today. ISIS militants have murdered two American journalists, and have threatened to kill Mr Haines, 44, a father-of-two from Perth in Scotland who is an experienced aid worker who has spent many years in some of the world's worst trouble spots. Mr Cameron said he had taken personal charge of the UK response to his kidnapping, bringing the police, military and security services together to discuss if he could be rescued. He said it was 'deeply regrettable' that some Western countries pay ransoms, and Britain would not do so. However the PM later hinted that the government has been in contact with ISIS about trying to secure Mr Haines' release. 'I don't want to go into the details of how we manage these events for reasons people would understand,' he told BBC Radio 4. 'But obviously there's a world of difference between communication and paying some ransom.' Advertisement

However, Mr Cameron is coming under growing pressure saved his strongest rhetoric for the murderous extremists of ISIS.

He insisted: 'We need to show real resolve and determination, we need to use every power and everything in our armoury with our allies, with those on the ground, to make sure we do everything we can to squeeze this dreadful organisation out of existence.'

There is a growing cross-party consensus in Britain for air strikes to be launched by the RAF.

Former defence secretary Liam Fox told the BBC: 'I think we should be joining the United States in air strikes on their bases to diminish their military capability so that the countries who are our allies are able to deal with them more effectively on their own.'

Former defence minister Sir Gerald Howarth said Britain has the 'precision weaponry to do the job' and should join the US mission while Labour ex-Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said it was his 'instinct' that the time had come for military action.

Tory party whips have begun canvassing opinion about the level of support for strikes, ahead of a likely Commons vote on the idea.

A YouGov survey for The Sun shows 47 per cent of people now back air strikes, with 31 per cent against.

Before the beheadings of the American journalists took place, just 37 per cent backed air strikes, with 36 per cent against.

Labour leader Ed Miliband said he 'would look at the merits' of any British strike the government put forward.

He told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: 'It's a threat which can't be ignored, I think its very, very important that we don't just turn away from it and say 'it's too big a problem'.

'It also means we've got to learn the lessons of the past. I think that means first of all we've got to build an alliance within the region - it's not just about Britain and the United States, its about countries within the region, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar.'

At the Nato summit, alliance secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the assembled leaders would be considering what action they could take to combat the IS threat.

'We will discuss what individual allies and what Nato can do to counter the threat from the terrorist organisation - the so-called Islamic State,' he said.

Former Labour Cabinet minister Peter Hain has called for Britain to work with Syria's dictator Bashar Al-Assad to orchestrate air strikes in his country.

But Mr Cameron told Sky News: 'I think President Assad is part of the problem, not part of the solution.

'If you ask yourself why has ISIS arisen, it has got two main causes - the cause of Assad brutalising his own people without a stronger official opposition to stand up for them and the failure of the Iraqi government to govern for all its people.'

Former Labour security minister Admiral Lord West of Spithead yesterday said military action should remain 'on the table' when dealing with Islamic State extremists who had threatened British citizens and the British state.

Mr Obama, Mr Cameron and Mr Rasmussen bow their heads during the opening ceremony of the summit

U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron, right, face military flag bearers from their countries before the first round table meeting between world leaders

Police motorcyclists patrol the perimeter of the the Celtic Manor Resort as world leaders gather for the 2014 NATO Summit in Newport

Speaking at RUSI conference in London, the Labour peer and former head of the Royal Navy, said: 'I'm not saying we should just go immediately and invade them, that would be stupid', he said, but added that military options should be part of the ' overall planning', along with diplomatic methods, interrupting money flows, and working with allies.

'As part of that plan, if there are various targeted military things to be done, then they are not off the table.'

He said he was 'sure' that the Government would be looking closely at possible military options to help 'destroy this abhorrent group of people'.



