#20 Omar al-Shishani (aka “Omar the Chechen”)
Of all the ISIS leaders killed in action, he is perhaps the most well known. He was widely considered to be the terror group’s minister of war. Al-Shishani was killed as a result of an American airstrike in March 2016, near the Syrian border city of Shadadi. He survived the initial strike but later died of his wounds. It’s widely thought that al-Shishani is referred to as “the Chechen” because of his physical appearance, though he is in fact from Georgia.
Shishani also headed the terror group’s main prison in Raqqa, Syria. The U.S. State Department once offered $5 million for information leading to the capture of Shishani. Shishani was also called “Abu Meat” by detractors because he had a reputation of staying in the rear with the gear while ordering others into battle.
#19 Abd al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli (aka “Hajji Imam”)
In a March effort to capture this senior IS commander, U.S. special operators initially planned to disable his vehicle from the air, land a helicopter, and then take him into custody. Instead, with a judicious use of armament, they opened up on the vehicle, killing al-Qaduli. He was the group’s top financier and thus a significant kill. Separating themselves from the pack, ISIS accumulated more money in 2014 and the years that followed than any other extremist group. Additionally, because they captured land, they were able to leverage both black market oil sales and the taxation of civilians to fund their operations.
#18 Fathi Benn Awn Ben Jildi Murad al-Tunisi (aka “Abu Sayyaf”)
Sending only the best after this guy, British SAS and American Delta Force elements raided the house of Abu Sayyaf, ISIS’ chief oil minister and a high-ranking commander in Deir-ez-Zor, Syria. Abu Sayyaf was shot twice in the chest as he went for a weapon. His wife said she was only a sex slave. (Sayyaf and his wife ran ISIS’ sex slave network.) His actual Yazidi sex slave was freed by the operators. His wife was captured.
