While details on strikes from Tuesday have yet to be released, coalition aircraft hit six positions near Manbij on Monday, roughly 60 miles northeast of Aleppo, hitting “four separate [Islamic State] tactical units, and destroyed a fighting position, a vehicle, a tank, and two vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices”, according to an official release from the the U.S. military, which oversees the air campaign.
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Director of SITE Intelligence Group Rita Katz said that his death would be a “major blow” to ISIS, especially after the death of ISIS minister of war Omar al Shishani in July.
Adnani is seen by many to be one of the main catalysts for the Islamic State’s ability to project terror attacks far outside of Syria and the larger Middle East. Adnani came to fame after his lengthy speeches imploring Muslim lone wolf terrorists to kill Westerners in Western countries.
Islamic State’s statement Tuesday referred to Adnani for the first time as a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad.
Adnani was the head of an elite special operations branch within ISIS that is creating a network of hundreds of foreign fighters who are actively planning multiple coordinated attacks across Europe. He was then moved to the north of the terror group’s capital in Iraq, Mosul.
Those military setbacks have been accompanied by airstrikes that have killed several of the group’s leaders, undermining its organizational ability and dampening its morale. He released numerous, lengthy audio files online in which he delivered fiery sermons urging followers to kill civilians in nations that supported the USA -led coalition against the group.
A founding member and chief spokesman for Islamic State, Abu Mohammed al Adnani, was killed on a battlefield in northern Syria, the militant group said Tuesday. In the northern part of Aleppo province, near the Turkish border, the Islamic State is now under attack by a long list of antagonists: directly by Turkish, American, and Russian airstrikes, by US- and Turkish-backed Syrian rebels, and by US-backed Kurdish rebels and their Arab allies.
Amaq did not say how Adnani, born Taha Subhi Falaha in Syria’s Idlib Province in 1977, was killed. Islamic State published a eulogy dated August 29 but giving no further details.
And it is under attack on the ground from several directions, by Syrian rebels backed by the USA and Turkey; and by Kurdish-led militias that are also backed by the U.S.
Earlier this year, Adnani called for massive attacks during Ramadan – a call that translated into the bloodiest Muslim holy month in recent memory.
A US defense official says an air strike was carried out in the Syrian town of al-Bab Tuesday targeting Adnani, but declined to say whether the Islamic State leader was killed.
Analysts have described Adnani as a key figure in the jihadist group.
He would not say whether the strike targeted or killed Adnani.
Citing unconfirmed reports, he said Adnani was in the Aleppo region to raise morale as the group comes under mounting pressure.
A Syrian originally from Aleppo, al Adnani pledged allegiance to Islamic State’s predecessor al Qaeda more than a decade ago.
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Al-Adnani has been with ISIS since its beginnings and was close to al-Baghdadi, CNN’s Nic Roberston said.
