A coalition airstrike on Sept. 7 killed a senior ISIS leader who served as the group’s minister of information, the Pentagon announced. The strike near Raqqa, Syria, killed Wa’il Adil Hasan Salman al-Fayad, or Dr. Wa’il, who led the group’s propaganda and served as a member of the group’s senior leadership group, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in a Friday statement. Wa’il, as minister of information, oversaw production of propaganda videos, including those showing executions. He was a close associate of ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, who was killed in an Aug. 30 strike. “The removal of ISIL’s senior leaders degrades its ability to retain territory, and its ability to plan, finance, and direct attacks inside and outside of the region,” Cook said in the statement.
Airmen and Guardians in the Active and Reserve component, as well as civilian employees, in “mission critical and high-risk populations” are now required to receive influenza vaccinations annually to “preserve force readiness,” according to a recent Department of the Air Force memo.