Gulmurod Khalimov, the Isis commander in Mosul, was trained by US special forces

The highest ranking Islamic State commander in Mosul, described as the jihadists’ minister of war, has been killed in an airstrike.

Gulmurod Khalimov, who was originally from Tajikistan, was in the west of the city last week when the missile struck. It was the third time in recent months that he had been the target of an airstrike, according to an Iraqi military source.

The source said that Khalimov, who had training from US special forces during his time in Tajikistan’s regular armed forces, had been responsible for planning the jihadists’ defence of Mosul and was behind hundreds of car bombings against the coalition.

Iraqi forces throw grenades in the battle to recapture west Mosul from Isis CARL COURT/GETTY IMAGES

A recent paper by Charlie Winter, an insurgency and terrorism researcher, noted that Tajikistanis were the largest contingent of foreign suicide