Russia’s Ministry of Defense claims Islamic State spokesman Mohammad al-Adnani’s death with an airstrike in the Aleppo province of Syria, a claim disputed by US officials.
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Al-Adnani was viewed by the Pentagon as a high value target and possibly the most likely successor to lead the Islamic State militant group in the event its current chief, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed.
The ministry earlier confirmed that Daesh second-in-command Abu Mohammed Adnani was among about 40 terrorists killed in an airstrike by Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers in the Syrian province of Aleppo. Washington said it was still reviewing the results of its operation, and was not prepared to issue a public statement.
Cook said Russian Federation had not devoted much, if any, effort to targeting ISIS leaders.
“It would be amusing, if not for the character of the campaign the Russians have undertaken in Syria”.
On Tuesday, ISIS announced Adnani’s death in a rare public statement.
“In the collective jihadist memory Abu Mohamed al-Adnani will always be the one who announced the “restoration of the caliphate” in June 2014″, said expert Romain Caillet, describing the propaganda chief as “the most charismatic leader in IS”.
Russia’s defense ministry, attributing its information to intelligence channels, said Adnani was one of as many as 40 terrorists killed in an airstrike carried out by a Sukhoi 34 bomber in a place called Umm Hawsh, about 17 miles west of al-Baba, where the USA said its strike was carried out.
U.S. Defense Department spokesman Peter Cook responded to the Russian assertion with doubt.
It is not surprising that the US Defense Ministry doesn’t know what the situation in Syria is like, since it doesn’t want to work with Russia, the Russian Defense Ministry said. “We don’t trust – we are not going to be satisfied simply to trust ISIL and the Russians on this”. “He has coordinated the movement of ISIS fighters, directly encouraged lone-wolf attacks on civilians and members of the military and actively recruited new ISIS members”, Cook said during his Pentagon press briefing.
Another US defence official told Reuters – on condition of anonymity – that “Russia’s claim is a joke”.
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Hani al-Sibai, director of al-Maqrizi Center for Historical Studies (UK) in London, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Binali can’t be compared to Adnani because he has no impact on the role of militants unlike Adnani who was one of ISIS’ founders. We conducted a strike that targeted al-Adnani.
