US says it killed IS information minister al-Fayad Published duration 16 September 2016

image copyright AP image caption With its own radio station, magazines, and a daily flow of video and photo reports, IS runs a professional media operation

The Pentagon says a US air strike has killed one of so-called Islamic State's most senior leaders, Wa'il Adil Hasan Salman al-Fayad, in Syria.

Also known as "Dr Wa'il", he was minister of information for IS, and oversaw the production of propaganda videos showing executions.

The Pentagon said the strike had taken place near Raqqa on 7 September.

Fayad was a close associate of IS strategist Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, who was killed in an air strike last month.

"The removal of ISIL's senior leaders degrades its ability to retain territory, and its ability to plan, finance, and direct attacks inside and outside of the region," Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said in a statement, using an alternative name for IS.

"We will continue to work with our coalition partners to build momentum in the campaign to deal ISIL a lasting defeat."

Mr Cook said Fayad had also been a member of the IS leadership group, the Shura Council.

media caption Frank Gardner considers what difference the death of Abu Muhammad al-Adnani will make to so-called Islamic State

Earlier this week, the Pentagon said the chief propagandist for IS - Abu Mohamed al-Adnani - had been killed in an air strike in northern Syria last month.

He was one of the IS group's most high-profile figures with a $5m (£3.8m) bounty on his head.