A top recruiter for the Islamic State (IS) has been killed by a U.S. air strike in Iraq, disrupting the militant group's ability to attract new fighters, the Australian government has said.
The United States informed Australian officials that Neil Prakash, who was linked to several attacks in Australia and had called for lone-wolf attacks against the United States, was killed in an air strike in Mosul on April 29.
Melbourne-born Prakash had appeared in IS propaganda videos and magazines and had actively recruited Australian men, women, and children, and encouraged acts of terrorism.
Australia last year announced financial sanctions against Prakash, including threatening anyone giving financial assistance to him with punishment of up to 10 years in jail.
Prakash is believed to have relocated to Syria in 2014 and is on a United Nations sanctions list.
The U.S. government said that a second Australian citizen involved with IS, Shadi Jabar Khalil Mohammad, also was killed on April 22 in a U.S. air strike in Syria.
Mohammad and her Sudanese husband, Abu Sa'ad al-Sudani, were both active recruiters of foreign fighters on behalf of IS, and had called for attacks against Western interests.
