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Islamic State propaganda chief killed in Syria

The Islamic State holdings in Aleppo province have recently been under attacks by the US -supported Syrian Democratic Forces, Turkey-backed Syrian rebels, and by an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias.

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Analysts have described Adnani as a key figure in the jihadist group.

ITV News Security Editor Rohit Kachroo said the death could be the “biggest hit” against the militant group since its inception.

The agency report quotes a spokesperson for the terror outfit, who said Adnani, as head of external operations, was in charge of attacks overseas, including Europe.

Al-Adnani was killed as Turkish and Kurdish forces attacked Islamic State-controlled areas of Aleppo, al-Masdar News reported Tuesday.

Daesh published a eulogy for Adnani on August 29, but gave no further details as to the cause of his death.

Aamaq vowed to revenge against the “filthy cowards in the sect of disbelief”.

In June 2014, Adnani declared in a statement that the jihadist group was establishing a modern-day caliphate gaining control over large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria. He also reportedly was captured in 2005 and taken into custody at a camp run by the US military, but was released in 2010.

Adnani is a Syrian from Binish in Idlib, southwest of Aleppo, who pledged allegiance to Islamic State’s predecessor al Qaeda more than a decade ago and was once imprisoned by USA forces in Iraq, according to the Brookings Institution.

In January, it was reported that al-Adnani was wounded in fighting in Syria and required a blood transfusion.

The Pentagon said it had targeted Adnani in a precision strike near the town of al Bab and was still assessing the results.

In Washington, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook confirmed that a USA air strike on Tuesday targeted al-Adnani in the Syrian city of al-Bab, which is north-east of Aleppo.

Amaq did not say how Adnani was “martyred”. “The war of words between al-Qaida and ISIS, the justification for war on the west – that was all Adnani’s doing”. He is also said to have masterminded major terror attacks in Europe.

A government official in Washington told VOA that the US been tracking several “high value” IS members in Aleppo province, but would not confirm whether Adnani was one of those on the list. It said a generation raised in IS-held territory would avenge Adnani’s death.

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In May 2015, the State Department announced a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to al-Adnani, noting his “repeated calls for attacks against Westerns” and his pledges to “defeat” the United States.

This undated militant image provided by SITE Intel Group shows Abu Muhammed al-Adnani the Islamic State militant group's spokesman who IS say was'martyred in northern Syria. The IS-run Aamaq news agency said Tuesday Aug. 30 2016 that al Adnani