Terrorist behind attack on Yazidis killed in US airstrike

Baghdad: A US air strike killed the Al Qaida militant who masterminded Iraq's deadliest bombings which killed more than 400 people on August 14, targeting the Yazidi sect, a US military spokesman said yesterday.

He also said that "hundreds" of Al Qaida in Iraq had been captured or killed last month.

"On September 3, a coalition air strike killed the terrorist responsible for the planning and conducting of the horrific attack against the Yazidis in northern Iraq on August 14," Rear Admiral Mark Fox said.

Abu Mohammad Al Afri, also known as Abu Jasem, was killed in the air strike, southwest of the northern city of Mosul, Fox said.