The United States-led coalition fighting the Islamic State has said that it had killed a propaganda chief and associates in an air strike in the western Iraqi town of Al Qaim.

Ibrahim Al Ansari was an 'important ISIS leader', a spokesman for the Baghdad-based coalition, said on Thursday.

The slain propaganda chief was a leader in efforts to recruit foreign fighters and encourage 'terror attacks' in Western countries, the spokesperson said.

The air strike, that took place on March 25, also killed four other IS jihadists, destroyed a multimedia operation team, said another Defence Department official.

Their propaganda efforts included 'brainwashing of young children to perpetuate ISIS brutal methods', the source said. -- Agencies