Baghdad, Iraq – A US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State said on Friday that the militant group’s most senior leader in Iraq had been killed in an airstrike earlier this week in the country's north.

"Abu Yasir, the most senior Daesh leader in Iraq, was killed during an air strike near Kirkuk, January 27, 2021," coalition spokesperson, Wayne Marotto, said, using an Arab acronym for Islamic State.

He added that the leading militant had been killed in a joint Iraqi-coalition operation that resulted in the killing of ten Islamic State terrorists.

"Yasir’s death is another significant blow to Daesh resurgence efforts in Iraq," Marotto added on Twitter.

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His statement confirms an announcement made the day before by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who said that Abu Yasir Al Issawi, the so-called deputy caliph and governor of Iraq, had been killed in an intelligence operation.

Last week, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for a twin suicide attack that killed at least 32 people in central Baghdad.

In December 2017, Iraq declared victory against Islamic State, having recaptured all the territory seized by Islamic State since 2014.

However, members of the terror group have continued to carry out scattered attacks across the war-torn country.