The U.S. air strike believed to have killed Abu Mohammad al-Adnani has deprived the Islamic State terror group of the architect of its attacks on the West, as it faces the loss of swathes of its heartlands.
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Al-Adnani persistently called for attacks against the West.
Adnani is a Syrian from Idlib, southwest of Aleppo, who pledged allegiance to Islamic State’s predecessor, al-Qaida, more than a decade ago and was once imprisoned by US forces in Iraq, according to the Brookings Institution.
The province is frequently struck by both US-led coalition air strikes and Russian air raids.
His death, if confirmed, would be the latest blow to the Islamic State group, which has been on the retreat in Syria and Iraq, where it has declared a self-styled Islamic caliphate straddling both countries.
Known for ruthless tactics and his thick red beard, Shishani, whose Georgian name was Tarkhan Batirashvili, was one of the most sought IS leaders in Syria, described by U.S. officials who put a 5-million bounty on his head as the group’s de facto defence minister.
“Without his explosive voice, ISIS may find it hard to inspire the intense levels of violence that it has managed to inspire of late”.
Adnani, a Syrian born in 1977, was one of IS’s most recognised leaders, at the heart of a sophisticated propaganda and recruitment machine that produced slick videos and sustained a huge social media presence.
He was reported to be involved in organizing a series of high-profile IS attacks overseas that killed hundreds, including in Paris, Brussels and Istanbul.
IS news agency Amaq said Adnani “was martyred while surveying operations to repel the military campaigns against Aleppo” and pledged to avenge his death.
Islamic State said on Tuesday Adnani had been killed in what appeared to be an USA air strike in Syria.
“We are still assessing the results of the strike but Adnani’s removal from the battlefield would mark another significant blow to ISIL”, he said, using an alternative name for the group.
“Most notably, he served as ISIL’s chief of external operations, directing and inspiring major terrorist attacks outside of Iraq and Syria”, said the official, who declined to be named.
“After a journey filled with sacrifice and fight against non-believers, the Syrian Gallant knight, Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, joined the convoy of martyr leaders”, ISIS said.
Washington has vowed to “systematically eliminate” senior IS leaders and has put a $10 million bounty on the group’s elusive leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
According to the reports, the United States had targeted the prominent Senior ISIS leader in a precision strike near the town of Al Bab and was still assessing the results.
Hisham al-Hashimi, a Baghdad-based security analyst that advises the Iraqi government on IS affairs: said: “As a military target, Adnani is less important than (ex war minister Omar) al-Shishani …”
He said it was clear that U.S. intelligence had infiltrated top levels of IS and was increasingly aware of the movements of senior figures.
Adnani has been with ISIS since its beginnings and was close to Baghdadi, CNN’s Nic Robertson said.
Russian Federation has been flying its own bombing campaign in Syria in support of leader Bashar al-Assad since September but this is first time they have claimed to have killed a top-ranking IS leader.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that its airstrike killed al-Adnani.
On Wednesday, Russia’s Ministry of Defense announced it killed the terror leader on the ministry’s official Facebook page.
“Ramadan is coming”, said al-Adnani said “Make sure that every one of you spend it in the name of God and on the attack”.
“If that’s indeed true, then Adnani’s killing is arguably the most significant loss to ISIS since the late months of the USA occupation of Iraq”.
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He was a founding member of IS, which evolved from Al-Qaeda in Iraq and in mid-2014 seized control of large parts of Syria and Iraq.
