WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Thursday a coalition airstrike in Syria killed a senior Islamic State leader who helped fundraise, secure arms and transport fighters for the militant group.
The June 16 strike killed Tariq bin Tahar al-'Awni al-Harzi, the Pentagon said, identifying him as the brother of another fighter linked to the 2012 attack on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya.
"His death will impact ISIL's ability to integrate foreign terrorist fighters into the Syrian and Iraqi fight as well as to move people and equipment across the border between Syria and Iraq," said Captain Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, using an acronym for Islamic State.
The Pentagon had previously reported that Harzi's brother was killed in a U.S. airstrike on June 15 on Mosul, Iraq.