Australian Defence Minister Kevin Andrews failed to know the name of the head of ISIS in an interview. When asked if he could name the leader of the militant group who has seized large swathes of land in Iraq, Andrews said he was not going to talk about “operational matters.”

ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s name has been mentioned countless times in media reports. The United States has placed a $10 million bounty for the Al-Baghdadi’s head. Andrews appeared in an interview with ABC to announce that Australia will be sending reinforcements to help Iraqi forces fight ISIS. The Australian government has deployed another 330 troops to aid in the international effort against the terror group.

When reporter Leigh Sales pushed Andrews about the identity of the ISIS leader, the defence minister can only give a somewhat vague answer. He insisted that ISIS is a “combination of groups” and claimed there were Australians in the senior leadership of ISIS.

However, Sales retorted that she doesn’t think the name of the ISIS leader was an operational matter but a public record. She said she was surprised that Andrews cannot give her the name even after the fact that the U.S. had placed a $10 million reward for his head.

After the interview, Andrews had posted a tweet on his social media account. “Focusing on individuals ignores the threat that extremist organisations present. We remain firm in our resolve to defeat Dae’sh,” said Andrews.

In a separate interview, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key also failed to name the ISIS leader. “Look I’ll get it wrong if I actually name his name – it’s al-Jabiri something – but whatever I mean but yeah,” said Mr Key.

The New Zealand government has received criticism for its lack of transparency involving the deployment of military troops in Iraq, reports Stuff. New Zealand will be sending 143 troops to help train Iraqi government forces to fight ISIS. The government has refused to confirm the reports and refused to comment on whether or not the troops will be deployed with their Australian counterparts.

To report problems or leave feedback on this article, contact: r.su@ibtimes.com.au

RELATED STORIES