'Islamic State' chemical arms expert killed

The US Department of Defense confirmed late on Friday that it had eliminated a dangerous member of the "Islamic State" ("IS") terrorist group, which currently controls large swathes of land in Syria and Iraq.

According to a Pentagon statement, Abu Malik died on January 24 in a US airstrike near Mosul, Iraq.

"His past training and experience provided the terrorist group with expertise to pursue a chemical weapons capability," the Pentagon said.

Malik's absence would "temporarily degrade and disrupt" the terrorist network, it added.

Malik was believed to have worked at Iraq's Muthanna chemical weapon production facility until 2005. The Pentagon did not indicate how long he had worked at the notorious complex.

Muthanna received its name in 1986. It was the successor to Saddam Hussein's chemical weapons project known as "Project 922," rooted in a comparatively smaller arms program begun by the Iraqi government in the late 1960s.

On Friday, Pentagon spokesperson Rear Admiral John Kirby said that the current operation against IS could last for three to five more years, according to news agency DPA.

The US began launching airstrikes against IS in early August in a bid to halt its advance in Iraq. The US-led mission, known as "Operation Inherent Resolve," includes a number of nations. Some, such as Canada and the United Kingdom, only provide support in Iraq, while others, such as Saudi Arabia and Jordan, carry out air raids in Syria.

As of January 9, the Pentagon estimated that the military campaign had already cost some $1.3 billion (1.15 billion euros).

kms/gsw (AP, Reuters, dpa)