Why can't US kill Islamic State's top commanders?

November 07, 2014 03:36

The United States and its coalition partners have conducted close to 800 airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria, hitting command-and-control facilities, training compounds, armored vehicles, oil refineries, supply trucks, artillery pieces, and bunkers.

But there's a notable absence from the target list: the Islamic State's top leaders.

Since the Obama administration's bombing campaign began in Iraq on Aug. 8, the United States has not conducted what's called a "decapitation strike," an attack specifically aimed at taking out a member of the Islamic State's senior military commanders.

The tactic's absence from the military campaign is particularly glaring because hunting high-value militants has become a cornerstone of the Obama administration's counterterrorism strategy in other parts of the world.

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