US forces killed the mastermind of two attacks on a revered Shia mosque at the heart of Iraq's bitter sectarian conflict during a crackdown on al Qaeda's Iraqi affiliate, the military said on Sunday.
Haitham al-Badri, whom the US military linked to a string of lethal bombings and described as the extremist network's "emir" in Salaheddin province, was killed in an air attack east of the northern city of Samarra last Thursday.
Close air support was called after surveillance spotted a group of fighters apparently preparing an ambush, US military spokesman Rear Admiral Mark Fox told a news conference in Baghdad. Helicopter straffing killed Badri, who was positively identified by close associates and family members, the spokeswoman said.