An American airstrike near Mosul, Iraq, killed the second in command of ISIS on Aug. 18, the White House announced. Fadhil Ahmad al-Hayali, also known as Hajji Mutazz, was killed while traveling in a vehicle along with an ISIS media operative, National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said in an Aug. 21 statement. Al-Hayali served as an ISIS Shura council member and the senior deputy to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. He was responsible for moving weapons, vehicles, and explosives between Iraq and Syria, and was in charge of ISIS operations inside of Iraq, according to the NSC. Al-Hayali previously was a member of al Qaeda in Iraq, the military emir for ISIS in Baghdad, and emir of Ninawa. The airstrike occurred near Mosul, which is in ISIS control. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Kevin Killea, the Chief of S?taff for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, said in an Aug. 21 Pentagon briefing that the Iraqi government has slowed its advance on Mosul while focusing on operations near Ramadi and the Baiji oil refinery, and that Iraq will attempt to retake the city on its own timeline.
Defense experts say the drone threat represents only part of a larger, looming problem: U.S. air bases in the Pacific are increasingly vulnerable to air attacks.