--- description: He had a $5 million bounty on his head title: Top ISIS Leader Believed Dead in U.S. Airstrike image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4dd15ce19857d4a8/69888a3dcf40a843e1c42548/ap_380027739418.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Syria](/tag/syria/) ## Syria Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Top ISIS Leader 'Omar the Chechen' Believed Dead in U.S. Airstrike by [NBC News](/author/nbc-news/) ## NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 9, 2016 6:01 AM CUT  This image made from undated video posted during the weekend of June 28, 2014 and verified by AP shows Omar al-Shishani. This image made from undated video posted during the weekend of June 28, 2014 and verified by AP shows Omar al-Shishani.AP by [NBC News](/author/nbc-news/) ## NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 9, 2016 6:01 AM CUT A top ISIS commander known by his nickname Omar the Chechen — and recognized by his distinguishable red beard — is believed dead from a U.S. airstrike in Syria, a senior defense official told NBC News Tuesday. The likely death of Omar al-Shishani near the town of Shaddadi — seized by Syrian rebels from ISIS last month — would be a key gain for coalition forces in taking out [one of the biggest names on the U.S.’s terror hit list](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/who-are-biggest-names-u-s-terror-hit-list-n196876 "undefined"). The senior defense official said al-Shishani, born in 1986, is believed to have died… [_Read the rest of the story from our partners at NBC News_](http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-terror/isis-leader-omar-chechen-believed-dead-airstrike-u-s-defense-n534366?cid=par-time%5F20160309 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4252123/isis-leader-omar-chechen-dead-airstrike/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4252123/isis-leader-omar-chechen-dead-airstrike/"},"headline":"Top ISIS Leader 'Omar the Chechen' Believed Dead in U.S. Airstrike","datePublished":"2016-03-09T06:01:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:44:07.326Z","description":"He had a $5 million bounty on his head","url":"https://time.com/4252123/isis-leader-omar-chechen-dead-airstrike/","keywords":["Syria","ISIS"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4dd15ce19857d4a8/69888a3dcf40a843e1c42548/ap_380027739418.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"NBC News","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nbc-news/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4dd15ce19857d4a8/69888a3dcf40a843e1c42548/ap_380027739418.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Omar al-Shishani","caption":"Omar al-Shishani","creditText":"AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/syria/","name":"Syria"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4252123/isis-leader-omar-chechen-dead-airstrike/","name":"Top ISIS Leader 'Omar the Chechen' Believed Dead in U.S. Airstrike"}}]}] ```