Story highlights A US official says the strike was 'likely successful'

Rachid Kassim has recruited radicals in Europe to carry out attacks, officials say

(CNN) The Pentagon announced Friday that a US-led coalition strike in Iraq targeted Rachid Kassim, an ISIS operative tied to numerous terrorist plots in Europe.

"Coalition forces targeted Rachid Kassim, a senior ISIS operative, near Mosul in a strike in the past 72 hours," US Maj. Adrian Rankine-Galloway said.

The Pentagon said it is still assessing the results, but a senior US defense official told CNN that it was "likely successful."

The official added that the airstrike was carried out by a drone.

Kassim is a French citizen who has allegedly inspired terrorist attacks in France. He is considered one of the most dangerous of all ISIS operatives because he enabled a string of plots against France by communicating with ISIS sympathizers in France through encrypted messaging apps.

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