US says raid killed ISIL propaganda chief

The Pentagon said on Sept. 16 that a U.S.-led coalition airstrike on Sept. 7 killed an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) leader who oversaw the extremist militant group's propaganda.

Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said that the airstrike took place near Raqqa and targeted and killed Wa'il Adil Hasan Salman al-Fayad, also known as Dr. Wa'il.

Cook said Wa'il was minister of information and prominent member of ISIL's Senior Shura Council, or leadership group.

"Wa'il oversaw ISIL's [Daesh] production of terrorist propaganda videos showing torture and executions," Cook said in the statement. "He was a close associate of Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, the Daesh spokesman and leader for plotting and inspiring external terror attacks."

On Aug. 30, ISIL said Adnani was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Syria, which was later confirmed by the Pentagon.

A Western diplomat meanwhile told Reuters the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons would issue a report next week to the Security Council blaming Syrian army units for attacks using chlorine gas.

The finding by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the global chemical weapons watchdog, is based on Western and regional intelligence, the diplomat said.

"It was the 22nd Division, the 63rd Brigade and the 255 and 253 squadrons of the Syrian government," the envoy said.

The identification of specific military institutions responsible for attacks could strengthen a push by some Western members of the U.N. Security Council for a robust response, focused on sanctions and accountability.

President Bashar al-Assad's government has denied using toxic gas on the battlefield, and said it will cooperate with...