The Islamic State group’s spokesman and chief strategist, who laid out the blueprint for the extremist group’s attacks against the West, has been killed while overseeing operations in northern Syria, the group announced Tuesday.
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But analysts said it would be highly unlikely for the Islamic State to put out false information about the death of a leader of al-Adnani’s significance through its official channels. He’s a very visible public face of the Islamic State.
In a statement, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook described Adnani as the “principal architect of Isil’s external operations”, using an alternative name for the group.
Al-Adnani was one of the first foreign fighters to oppose US Coalition Forces in Iraq after he crossed the border from his native Syria in 2003.
Adnani was one of the last living senior members, along with self-appointed caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who founded the group and stunned the Middle East by seizing huge tracts of Iraq and Syria in 2014.
Hisham al-Hashimi, a security analyst who advises the Iraqi government on Islamic State, said Adnani was injured in a coalition strike on August 17 near al-Rai, north of Aleppo, where Islamic State is fighting Turkish and USA -backed Syrian rebels. The group said his death would only increase its members’ resolve to “exact revenge against the enemies and to strike out against them”.
He has been the chief propagandist for the ultra-hardline jihadi group since he declared in a June 2014 statement that it was establishing a modern-day caliphate spanning large swaths of territory it had seized in Iraq and Syria.
Known for his aggressive, florid speaking style, al-Adnani sought to inspire recruits and lone wolf attackers in the West, and his calls to arms were often cited by ISIS adepts. He released numerous, lengthy audio files online in which he delivered fiery sermons urging followers to kill civilians in nations that supported the US -led coalition against the group.
Fighting has escalated around the city in recent weeks, with rebels breaking a siege by government forces and Syrian and Russian warplanes bombing rebel-held areas.
Earlier this year, he called for massive attacks during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Aleppo is a current focal point of the civil war in Syria, where IS, Syrian Kurdish forces, Turkey-backed rebels and President Bashar Assad’s forces are vying for control.
Adnani is likely to be succeeded in his military role by the financial comptroller of the group, Iyad al-Obaidi, also known as Saleh Haifa, a security officer and Saddam, Hashimi said.
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In Iraq, the group has lost its strongholds in Fallujah and Ramadi, in the western Anbar province. It described him as “the official spokesman for and a senior leader” of ISIS, a position he obtained after becoming one of the first foreign fighters to oppose USA -led forces in Iraq.
