(CNN) The U.S.-led coalition killed multiple figures within ISIS senior leadership over the last few weeks, including an operative closely linked to the ringleader of the November attacks in Paris, the spokesman for the coalition said Tuesday.

Col. Steve Warren said 10 senior ISIS leaders operating in both Iraq and Syria, "including several external attack planners," with designs on attacking western targets, had been killed in airstrikes.

Charaffe al Mouadan, a Syrian-based member of ISIS with a "direct link" to Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the Belgian-born ringleader of the terror attacks in Paris , was killed in a December 24 airstrike, and was "actively planning additional attacks against the West," Warren said.

Abaaoud was killed in a police raid in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis last month and had direct contacts, the coalition said, with al Mouadan before the attacks took place, which killed more than 120 people.

In addition to al Mouadan, nine other figures focused on everything from planning attacks on Western targets to overseeing ISIS finances to the organization's hacking efforts were killed in airstrikes dating back to December 7.

Photos: Paris attack suspects: What we know Photos: Paris attack suspects: What we know Hide Caption 1 of 10 Photos: Paris attack suspects: What we know Hide Caption 2 of 10 Photos: Paris attack suspects: What we know Hide Caption 3 of 10 Photos: Paris attack suspects: What we know Hide Caption 4 of 10 Photos: Paris attack suspects: What we know Hide Caption 5 of 10 Photos: Paris attack suspects: What we know Hide Caption 6 of 10 Photos: Paris attack suspects: What we know Hide Caption 7 of 10 Photos: Paris attack suspects: What we know Hide Caption 8 of 10 Photos: Paris attack suspects: What we know Hide Caption 9 of 10 Photos: Paris attack suspects: What we know Hide Caption 10 of 10

"I think any organization that sees its middle and upper management degraded in this way is going to lose some of their synergy," he said. "It's difficult to command and control an organization without the command and control personnel."

The coalition has also killed other senior ISIS figures in recent months, such Mohammed Emwazi, aka "Jihadi John," and before that Abu Sayyaf, a senior figure in the group's oil and petroleum operations.

Warren's detailing of recent U.S. successes in taking out ISIS figures coincides with a stepped-up effort by the Obama administration to broadcast its wins in taking on ISIS to reassure the American public that it has an effective approach for combatting the terror group.

President Barack Obama held a meeting with his national security team at the Pentagon on December 14 and told them he wanted to see a better job of having the so-called "narrative" of the war on ISIS communicated to the American people, according to a senior defense official.

However, Warren acknowledged Tuesday that, "We have not severed the head of this snake yet, and it has still got has fangs. There's much more fighting to do."

And a source close to the investigation into the Paris attacks told CNN that contrary to the coalition depiction of al Mouadan as an ISIS leader, he was not suspected by French investigators of having a senior role in ISIS.

The source did say, however, that he was in touch with the Paris plotters days before the attack. The source said that investigators are still determining the role, if any, he played in the attacks.

The source said that one of the surviving concertgoers at the Bataclan music venue told investigators that one of the gunmen asked another of the attackers whether he was going to call an individual called "Souleymane" as the attack was ongoing.

The second attacker replied, "No," and chided the other attacker, telling him to speak in Arabic rather than in French. Souleymane is one of the known aliases of al Mouadan.

El-Mouadan was a close associate of Samy Amimour, one of the Bataclan gunmen, according to the source, who said both were investigated in 2012 for suspected terrorist activity. According to Le Parisien newspaper, which on December 21 first reported details about the discussion of a call to Souleymane inside the Batclan, al Mouadan traveled from France to Syria in 2013.

Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks A forensic scientist works near a Paris cafe on Saturday, November 14, following a series of coordinated attacks in Paris the night before that killed scores of people. ISIS has claimed responsibility. Hide Caption 1 of 32 Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks Police are out in force November 14 near La Belle Equipe, one of the sites of the terror attacks. Hide Caption 2 of 32 Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks Forensic police search for evidence inside the Comptoir Voltaire cafe after the attacks. Hide Caption 3 of 32 Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks Shoes and a bloody shirt lie outside the Bataclan concert hall on November 14. Most of the fatalities occurred at the Bataclan in central Paris. Hide Caption 4 of 32 Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks Security forces evacuate people on Rue Oberkampf near the Bataclan concert hall early on November 14. Hide Caption 5 of 32 Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks Medics evacuate an injured woman on Boulevard des Filles du Calvaire near the Bataclan early on November 14. Hide Caption 6 of 32 Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks Police, firefighters and rescue workers secure the area near the Bataclan concert hall on November 14. Hide Caption 7 of 32 Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks A man with blood on his shirt talks on the phone on November 14. He is next to the Bataclan theater, where gunmen shot concertgoers and held hostages until police raided the building. Hide Caption 8 of 32 Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks Police officers patrol the area around Notre Dame cathedral in Paris on November 14. Hide Caption 9 of 32 Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks Police officers patrol Paris' Saint-German neighborhood on November 14. Hide Caption 10 of 32 Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks Victims of the shooting at the Bataclan concert venue in central Paris are evacuated to receive medical treatment on November 14. Hide Caption 11 of 32 Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks A woman is evacuated from the Bataclan theater early on November 14. Hide Caption 12 of 32 Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks Forensics are working in the street of Paris after the terrorist attack on Friday, November 13. The words "horror," "massacre" and "war" peppered the front pages of the country's newspapers, conveying the shell-shocked mood. Hide Caption 13 of 32 Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks Rescuers evacuate an injured person near the Stade de France, one of several sites of attacks November 13 in Paris. Thousands of fans were watching a soccer match between France and Germany when the attacks occurred. Hide Caption 14 of 32 Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks A survivor of the terrorist attack in the Bataclan is assisted following terror attacks, November 13. The violence at the Bataclan, which involved a hostage-taking, resulted in the highest number of casualties of all the attacks. Hide Caption 15 of 32 Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks Spectators invade the pitch of the Stade de France stadium after the international friendly soccer match between France and Germany in Saint-Denis. Hide Caption 16 of 32 Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks Spectators embrace each other as they stand on the playing field of the Stade de France stadium at the end of a soccer match between France and Germany in Saint-Denis, outside Paris, on November 13. Hide Caption 17 of 32 Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks A body, covered by a sheet, is seen on the sidewalk outside the Bataclan theater. Hide Caption 18 of 32 Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks Rescuers evacuate an injured person on Boulevard des Filles du Calvaire, close to the Bataclan concert hall in central Paris. Hide Caption 19 of 32 Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks Wounded people are evacuated outside the scene of a hostage situation at the Bataclan theater in Paris on November 13. Hide Caption 20 of 32 Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks A medic tends to a wounded man following the attacks near the Boulevard des Filles du Calvaire. Hide Caption 21 of 32 Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks A woman walks past police and firefighters in the Oberkampf area of Paris. Hide Caption 22 of 32 Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks A riot police officer stands by an ambulance near the Bataclan concert hall in central Paris. Hide Caption 23 of 32 Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks Wounded people are evacuated outside the Bataclan concert hall. Hide Caption 24 of 32 Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks Police secure the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, following explosions during the soccer match between France and Germany. Hide Caption 25 of 32 Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks A wounded man is evacuated from the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, outside Paris. Hide Caption 26 of 32 Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks Spectators gather on the field of the Stade de France after the attacks. Explosions were heard during the soccer match between France and Germany. Hide Caption 27 of 32 Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks French security forces rush in as people are evacuated in the area of Rue Bichat in the 10th District of Paris. Hide Caption 28 of 32 Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks People leave the Stade de France after explosions were heard near the stadium during a soccer match between France and Germany on Friday. Paris Deputy Mayor Patrick Klugman told CNN President Francois Hollande was at the match and was evacuated at halftime. Hide Caption 29 of 32 Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks Victims lay on the pavement outside a Paris restaurant. Hide Caption 30 of 32 Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks Rescue workers and medics tend to victims at the scene of one of the shootings, a restaurant in the 10th District. Attackers reportedly used AK-47 automatic weapons in separate attacks across Paris, and there were explosions at the Stade de France. Hide Caption 31 of 32 Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks French security forces move people in the area of Rue Bichat in the 10th District. A witness told BFMTV that firefighters were on the scene to treat the injured. Hide Caption 32 of 32

In Syria itself on Saturday, rebel forces supported by the American-led coalition successfully recaptured Tishreen Damin in the northwestern part of the country.

The hydroelectric dam along the banks of the Euphrates River had been under ISIS control since November 2012, and its seizure "denies an important logistics route" between the area which includes the key town of Manjib, and Raqaa, the de facto capital of ISIS's self-declared caliphate, Warren said.

In addition, Iraqi security forces successfully routed ISIS from most of its stronghold in Ramadi in western Iraq over the last few days.

It was after ISIS wrested Ramadi from Iraqi control back in May that Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Iraqi forces showed "no will to fight" in an interview with CNN at the time, as they retreated in defeat.

His comments stand in stark contrast to the Pentagon assessment of Iraqi military capabilities today.

While pockets of resistance still exist in and around Ramadi, Warren said the Iraqi Army's "willingness to fight is pretty well displayed" through its securing of Ramadi in recent days.

He added that further gains by the Iraqis against ISIS were likely because they are "outfitted with modern American equipment, modern conventional training" and supported by coalition airstrikes.

Warren attributed past defeats of the Iraqi army in places like Ramadi and Mosul, a key Iraqi city where local forces essentially melted away in 2014, to it being an army trained for counterinsurgency and not prepared for the more conventional military challenge posed by ISIS.