Page 9 - atoday mrch 16

WORLD NEWS 9
Wednesday 16 March 2016

Senior IS commander dies of wounds from US strike in Syria

appearing in several online Chechen from the Geor- illegal possession of arms,
videos leading fighters into gia, a former Soviet nation the neighbor said. Upon his
battle. He served as the top in the Caucasus. He hailed release in 2010, Batirash-
commander in Syria before from the Pankisi Valley, vili left for Turkey. He first
being appointed to lead a center of the country’s surfaced in Syria in 2013
three elite units that carried Chechen community and with his nom de guerre,
out special missions in Syr- a former militant strong- which means “Omar the
ia and Iraq, according to hold. He did military service Chechen” in Arabic, lead-
Hisham al-Hashimi, an Iraqi in the Georgian army but ing an al-Qaida-inspired
scholar who closely follows was discharged after an group called “The Army of
the group. unspecified illness, a former Emigrants and Partisans,”
Al-Shishani, whose real neighbor told The Associat- which included a large
name was Tarkhan Bati- ed Press in 2014. Georgian number of fighters from the
rashvili, was an ethnic police later arrested him for former Soviet Union.

This image shows Omar al-Shishani standing among a group of
fighters as they declare the elimination of the border between
Iraq and Syria. An Iraqi official and a Syrian activist say senior
Islamic State group leader Al-Shishani died Monday, March 15,
2016 outside Raqqa, Syria.

(AP Photo/militant social media account via AP video)

QASSIM ZAHRA the Islamic State group’s
BASSEM MROUE main stronghold of Raqqa
Associated Press in Syria, the two told The As-
BAGHDAD (AP) — Omar al- sociated Press. A U.S. mili-
Shishani, a top Islamic State tary spokesman confirmed
commander who was a the reports.
magnet for fighters from The IS-affiliated Aamaq
the former Soviet Union, has news agency cited an un-
died of wounds suffered named source as deny-
in a U.S. airstrike in Syria, a ing that al-Shishani was
senior Iraqi intelligence of- wounded or killed, without
ficial and the head of a Syr- providing any evidence
ian activist group said Tues- that he was still alive.
day. Al-Shishani, who was The red-bearded ethnic
wounded in a U.S. airstrike Chechen, who was in his
earlier this month, died on 30s, was one of the most
Monday evening outside prominent IS commanders,

Witnesses:

Warplanes bomb Yemeni market

AHMED AL-HAJ no bodies, perhaps be-
Associated Press cause families buried them.
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Three witnesses described
Saudi-led warplanes on a scene of carnage, with
Tuesday launched two air- dozens wounded or killed,
strikes on a busy market in but had no precise figures.
a northern Yemeni region The market in the city of
controlled by Shiite Houthi Mastaba, in Hajja province,
rebels, killing and wound- serves tens of thousands of
ing dozens of people, wit- people and was struck dur-
nesses said. ing a busy time. Witnesses
The state-run news agency said there were no military
SABA, which is controlled targets nearby. A Saudi-led
by the Houthis, said at least coalition has been bat-
65 people were killed and tling the Houthis on behalf
55 wounded. A nearby of the internationally rec-
hospital received dozens ognized government for a
of wounded people, but year now.