Neil Prakash, Australia’s most wanted terrorist, was killed by a U.S. airstrike on the city of Mosul, Iraq. Prakash’s death is significant because he is one of the highest ranking terrorist recruiters for ISIS. A second Australian, Shadi Jabar Khalil Mohammad, was also killed in another air strike on the city of Al Bab. Mohammand was the sister of Farhad Khalil Mohammad Jabar, a terrorist that killed a police accountant in Sydney Australia last year.
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The United States government has confirmed that Prakash was among a group of ISIS operatives that were killed on April 29. It is believed that Prakash left Melbourne for Syria in 2013. He changed his name to Abu Khaled al-Cambodi and quickly rose through the ranks to become a senior recruiter for the extremist group. He was promptly added to a U.S. “kill list”.
Prakash has also appeared in ISIS propaganda. He has called for attacks against Australia and “lone-wolf” attacks against the U.S. He perished along with 10 other ISIS jihadists. Prakash was the main target for the attack. He has been credited for helping to radicalize Numan Haider, an Australian terrorist that attacked two police officers with a knife, and plotting several pipe bomb attacks in Australia.
Prakash was extremely active on Facebook and other forms of social media. He recently stopped posting. Authorities believe he feared for his life and was concerned that his frequent posting would give away his location.
Shadi Jabar Khalil Mohammad is reported to have been killed alongside her Sudanese husband. She was killed two weeks prior to Prakash. Mohammad was allegedly involved in terroristic activities. She departed for Syria one day before her brother attacked two police officers in Australia. Her husband also had past ties to possible terrorists.
Prakash’s death is being heralded as a massive blow to ISIS recruitment. The Australian governement is calling their deaths a reminder of what happens to those who engage in terroristic activities or move to conflict zones overseas.
Do you think the death of Prakash and Mohammad will dissuade any potential homegrown terrorist from joining ISIS? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
