Pentagon says two IS military commanders killed in airstrikeJuly 2, 2016 - 13:29 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A U.S.-led coalition air strike killed Islamic State's deputy minister of war and a military commander in Mosul on June 25, a Pentagon official said on Friday, July 1, according to Reuters. "Their deaths, along with strikes against other ISIL leaders in the past month, have critically degraded ISIL's leadership experience in Mosul and removed two of their most senior military members in Northern Iraq," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said in a statement, using an acronym for the militant group that is also known as ISIS and Daesh. The strike near Mosul killed Basim Muhammad Ahmad Sultan al-Bajari, the deputy minister of war, who oversaw the militant group's capture of Mosul in 2014, Cook said. The other Islamic State member killed in the strike was Hatim Talib al-Hamduni, a military commander in Mosul, Cook added, according to Reuters. In June, Iraq's military claimed victory in a U.S.-backed offensive against Islamic State forces in Falluja and set its sights on an offensive against the jihadists who hold Mosul, Iraq's second largest city. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Get Started: An educational platform for young startuppers The Get Started program which operates in two phases is an important platform for young startuppers. Byblos Bank Armenia celebrates Students' Day with scholarship recipients YSU students who received scholarships from Byblos Bank Armenia gathered in a casual setting to meet with the Bank's CEO, Hayk Stepanyan. Azerbaijan extends Rune Vardanyan’s arrest by 5 months A court in Azerbaijan has extended the arrest of former Nagorno-Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan by five months. Armenia border residents dissatisfied with delimitation Residents Kirants are dissatisfied with the results of the delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. |