U.S. ISIS Kill List - Authorities in the U.S. say they have compiled a kill list of ISIS top leaders who call the shots and pull the strings for the terror group's operation in Iraq and Syria.
According to CNN, there are about two dozen ISIS operatives on the list, which U.S. officials have targeted with air strikes since there are currently no troops on the ground.
Reports indicate that the number one target on the U.S. ISIS kill list is the terror group's leader Abu al-Baghdadi, who according to intelligence reports, has been in hiding since he knows U.S. warplanes are hunting him.
As ISIS's reach spreads far beyond Iraq and Syria, the U.S. and its allies have targeted and killed several of the organization's top operatives. About a dozen or more ISIS leaders on the list have been killed by the U.S., including their chemical weapons expert.
The U.S. ISIS kill list is always expanding as officials gather more information into the inner-workings of the group, regarded as the wealthiest terrorist organization in history.
U.S. officials say the kill list targets ISIS experts who play important roles that further the group's goals in their different strongholds. By targeting these top operatives, the U.S. would hurt the group's broader plan of expansion.
Analysts have cautioned against branding every group that rears its head from a different country outside Iraq and Syria as ISIS, even though they may claim to be a faction of the terrorists. This is especially true as so-called ISIS factions are springing up in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Egypt and Libya.
"We have to take each terrorist or cult organization in every country as a separate entity. We can't look at it as one big group. You may miss the most important targets when you are doing that," said Mark Hertling, CNN military analyst.
