BEIRUT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Islamic State said on Tuesday one of its most prominent and longest-serving leaders was killed in what appeared to be an American air strike in Syria, depriving the militant group of the man in charge of directing attacks overseas.

A U.S. defense official told Reuters the United States targeted Abu Muhammad al-Adnani in a Tuesday strike on a vehicle traveling in the Syrian town of al-Bab. The official stopped short of confirming Adnani’s death, however.

Such U.S. assessments often take days and often lag behind official announcements by militant groups.

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.

As Islamic State’s spokesman, Adnani was its most visible member. As head of external operations, he was in charge of attacks overseas, including Europe, that have become an increasingly important tactic for the group as its core Iraqi and Syrian territory has been eroded by military losses.

The group reacted by saying his death would not harm it, and his killers would face “torment”, a statement in the group’s al-Naba newspaper said, according to the Site Intelligence monitoring group.

“Today, they rejoice for the killing ... and then they will cry much when Allah will overpower them, with His permission, with affliction of the worst torment by the soldiers of Abu Muhammad and his brothers,” the statement said.

Advances by Iraq’s army and allied militia toward Islamic State’s most important possession of Mosul have put the group under new pressure at a moment when a U.S.-backed coalition has cut its Syrian holdings off from the Turkish border.

Those military setbacks have been accompanied by air strikes that have killed several of the group’s leaders, undermining its organizational ability and dampening its morale.

A U.S. counter-terrorism official who monitors Islamic State said Adnani’s death would hurt the militants “in the area that increasingly concerns us as the group loses more and more of its caliphate and its financial base ... and turns to mounting and inspiring more attacks in Europe, Southeast Asia and elsewhere”.

Under Adnani’s auspices, Islamic State launched large-scale attacks, bombings and shootings on civilians in countries outside its core area, including France, Belgium and Turkey.

The official said Adnani’s roles as propaganda chief and director of external operations had become “indistinguishable” because the group uses its online messages to recruit fighters and provide instruction and inspiration for attacks.

Islamic State’s Amaq News Agency reported that Adnani was killed “while surveying the operations to repel the military campaigns against Aleppo.” Islamic State holds territory in the province of Aleppo, but not in the city where rebels are fighting Syrian government forces.

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 Aug. 29 but gave no further details.

INROADS INTO ISLAMIC STATE

Adnani was 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 U.S. forces in Iraq, according to the Brookings Institution.

He was from a well-to-do background but left Syria to travel to Iraq to fight U.S. forces there after its 2003 invasion, and only returned to his homeland after the start of its own civil war in 2011, a person who knew his family said.

He once taught theology and law in jihadi training camps, according to Brookings. A biography posted on militant websites says he grew up with a “love of mosques” and was a prolific reader.

IS spokesman and head of external operations Abu Muhammad al-Adnani is pictured in this undated handout photo, courtesy the U.S. Department of State. U.S. Department of State/REUTERS

He had been the chief propagandist for the ultra-hardline jihadist group since he declared in a June 2014 statement that it was establishing a modern-day caliphate spanning swaths of territory it had seized in Iraq and neighboring Syria.

Adnani had often been the face of the Sunni militant group, such as when he issued a message in May urging attacks on the United States and Europe during the holy month of Ramadan, and as in Sept. 2014 when he called on supporters to kill Westerners throughout the world.

Recent advances by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias, and by Syrian rebels backed by Turkey, have made inroads into Islamic State holdings in Aleppo province, cutting them off from the Turkish border and supply lines along it.

Iraqi army advances against the jihadist group meant Baghdad was on track to retake Mosul by the end of this year, the head of the U.S. military’s Central Command General Joseph Votel said on Tuesday.

AIR STRIKE

Among senior Islamic State officials killed in air strikes this year are Abu Ali al-Anbari, Baghdadi’s formal deputy, and the group’s “minister of war”, Abu Omar al-Shishani. Adnani had joined the group under its founder Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

There were conflicting reports earlier on Tuesday as to where and how Adnani died.

A senior Syrian rebel official said Adnani was most probably killed in the Islamic State-held city of al-Bab in an air strike. Citing unconfirmed reports, he said Adnani was in the Aleppo region to raise morale in the face of mounting pressure.

Islamic State’s territory around Aleppo is of particular significance to the group because it is also the location of Dabiq, where an Islamic prophecy holds the last battle between Muslims and infidels will rage, heralding the end of time.

Iraq said in January that Adnani had been wounded in an air strike in the western province of Anbar and then moved to the northern city of Mosul, Islamic State’s capital in Iraq.

An Islamic State flag is seen in this picture illustration taken February 18, 2016. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

The United States designated him a “global terrorist” this year and said he was one of the first foreign fighters to oppose U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq since 2003 before becoming spokesman of the militant group.

There was a $5 million reward on his head under the U.S. “Rewards for Justice” program.</s>Islamic State says its spokesman killed in Syria -Amaq News

BEIRUT, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Islamic State spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, one of the jihadist group's longest-serving and most prominent leaders, has been killed in Aleppo in Syria, its Amaq News Agency reported on Tuesday in a statement distributed by the group's supporters.

Amaq reported that Adnani was killed "while surveying the operations to repel the military campaigns against Aleppo". Islamic State holds territory in the province of Aleppo, but not in the city where rebels are fighting Syrian government forces.

Amaq did not say how Adnani was killed. Islamic State published a eulogy dated Aug. 29 but giving no further details.

Recent advances by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias, and by Syrian rebels backed by Turkey, have made inroads into Islamic State holdings in Aleppo province, cutting them off from the Turkish border and supply lines along it.

Iraq said in January that Adnani had been wounded in an air strike in the western province of Anbar and then moved to the northern city of Mosul, Islamic State's capital in Iraq.

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

He has been the chief propagandist for the ultra-hardline jihadist 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 neighbouring Syria.

Adnani has often been the face of the Sunni militant group, such as when he issued a message in May urging attacks on the United States and Europe during the holy month of Ramadan.</s>A senior ISIS figure who was once earmarked as the terror group's next leader has been killed in Syria, it has been reported.

Abu Mohammad al-Adnani, one of ISIS' longest-serving officials, was said to have died 'while surveying the operations to repel the military campaigns against Aleppo'.

It is not clear whether he was killed by ground forces or in an air strike.

Al-Adnani's death comes eight months after he was severely injured in an airstrike while acting as ISIS' chief spokesman in Iraq.

ISIS-affiliated media reported the news of his death in a statement distributed by the group's supporters.

Quoting a 'military source', Amaq News Agency said: 'Sheikh Abu Mohamed al-Adnani, the spokesman of the Islamic State, was martyred while surveying operations to repel the military campaigns against Aleppo.'

Adnani had been considered the terror network's most prominent public figure in Iraq, having made several audio recordings which have been posted online.

He was held in the same bracket of notoriety as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the caliph of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and has been suggested as the jihadists' next leader should Baghdadi lose his position.

Adnani was held in custody - believed to have been at the American detention facility, Camp Bucca - after being captured by US troops in 2005, remaining a prisoner until 2010.

A £2.5million bounty was issued in May 2014 for information leading to the Syrian born extremist, referring to his 'repeated calls for attacks against Westerns'.

In June of that year, he declared a 'caliphate' for parts of Syria and Iraq indicating ISIS' aim of not just being a terrorist group, but a governing body.</s>Islamic State spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, one of the jihadist group’s longest-serving and most prominent leaders, has been killed in Aleppo in Syria, its Amaq News Agency reported yesterday in a statement distributed by the group’s supporters.

Amaq reported that Adnani was killed “while surveying the operations to repel the military campaigns against Aleppo”.

IS holds territory in the province of Aleppo, but not in the city where rebels are fighting Syrian government forces.

Amaq did not say how Adnani was killed. Islamic State published a eulogy dated August 29th but giving no further details.

Recent advances by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias, and by Syrian rebels backed by Turkey, have made inroads into IS holdings in Aleppo province, cutting them off from the Turkish border and supply lines along it.

Iraq said in January that Adnani had been wounded in an air strike in the western province of Anbar and then moved to the northern city of Mosul, IS’s capital in Iraq.

Adnani is a Syrian from Idlib, southwest of Aleppo, who pledged allegiance to IS’s predecessor al-Qaeda more than a decade ago and was once imprisoned by U.S. forces in Iraq, according to the Washington think-tank Brookings Institution.

He has been the chief propagandist for the ultra-hardline jihadist group since he declared in a June 2014 statement that it was establishing a modern-day caliphate spanning large swathes of territory it had seized in Iraq and neighbouring Syria.

Adnani has often been the face of the Sunni militant group.

Earlier this year, he called for massive attacks during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. He has also called for attacks in Western countries, telling Muslims in France on occasion to attack “the filthy French” in any way they could, including “crush them with your car”.

He has also disparaged Saudi Arabia and its influential clerics for failing to rally behind the rebels that the monarchy supports in Syria like they did decades ago in Afghanistan.

Amaq vowed to gain revenge for the killing. – (Reuters)</s>By Zeina Karam, The Associated Press

BEIRUT — 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.

The IS-run Aamaq news agency said Abu Muhammed al-Adnani was “martyred while surveying the operations to repel the military campaigns in Aleppo,” and vowed to avenge his death. It did not provide any further details on when or how he died.

If confirmed, it would be a major blow to the extremist group, which has been on the retreat in Syria and Iraq, where the borders of its self-declared Islamic caliphate have been steadily eroded in recent months.

Al-Adnani, whose real name is Taha Sobhi Falaha, persistently called for attacks against the West, which paid off in bloody notoriety with the Nov. 13 coordinated attacks in Paris that hit a concert hall, a stadium and restaurants and bars, leaving 130 people dead and hundreds wounded.

Al-Adnani is a Syrian who was born in the northern province of Idlib and is believed to be in his late 30s. He crossed the border and joined al-Qaida in Iraq, a precursor to IS, after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

In late June 2014, he formally declared the establishment of a caliphate, or Islamic state, stretching across parts of Syria and Iraq, under the leadership of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and demanded allegiance from Muslims worldwide.

A powerful orator, he went on to become the voice of IS. He released numerous, lengthy audio files online in which he delivered fiery sermons urging followers to kill civilians in nations that supported the U.S.-led coalition against the group.

“If you can kill a disbelieving American or European — especially the spiteful and filthy French — or an Australian, or a Canadian, or any other disbeliever from the disbelievers waging war, including the citizens of the countries that joined a coalition against the Islamic State, then rely upon Allah, and kill him in any manner or way however it may be,” al-Adnani said in 2014.

In other speeches he referred to U.S. President Barack Obama as “an idiot” and Secretary of State John Kerry as an “uncircumcised old geezer.”

Earlier this year, he called for massive attacks during Ramadan — a call that translated into the bloodiest Muslim holy month in recent memory. Followers of IS carried out attacks on several continents, including the Orlando shooting, the Nice truck attack in France and a massive suicide bombing in downtown Baghdad.

Al-Adnani also disparaged Saudi Arabia and its influential clerics for failing to rally behind the rebels that the monarchy supports in Syria like they did decades ago in Afghanistan.

In Washington, a U.S. defense official said in response to reports of al-Adnani’s death that a U.S. airstrike on Tuesday targeted “an ISIL senior leader” in the Syrian city of al-Bab, which is northeast of Aleppo. But the official did not say whether the target was al-Adnani. He said the U.S. was still assessing the results of the airstrike. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the airstrikes by name.

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. The province is frequently struck by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes as well as Russian air raids.

Aamaq vowed revenge against the “filthy cowards in the sect of disbelief.” It said a generation raised in IS-held territory would avenge al-Adnani’s death.

The Islamic State group has suffered a string of defeats in recent weeks, including in Aleppo province, where Turkish troops and allied Syrian rebels drove IS out of the border town of Jarablus last week.

In Iraq, the group has lost its strongholds in Fallujah and Ramadi, in the western Anbar province. It still controls Mosul, but Iraqi forces are gearing up for a long-awaited operation to retake the country’s second largest city.

It has also lost some of its most senior commanders and founding members over the past year, including its “minister of war” Omar al-Shishani, feared Iraqi militant Shaker Wuhayeb, also known as Abu Wahib, as well as a top finance official known by several names, including Abu Ali Al-Anbari.</s>BEIRUT — 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 has announced.

The IS-run Aamaq news agency said Abu Mohammed al-Adnani was "martyred while surveying the operations to repel the military campaigns in Aleppo." It did not provide any further details on when or how he died. A later statement issued by the Islamic State group in Aleppo province vowed to avenge his death. Both statements were released late Tuesday evening.

Russia's Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that its airstrike killed al-Adnani. In a statement, the Defense Ministry said its intelligence had confirmed that a Russian airstrike on Aleppo province had killed 40 IS militants, including the group's spokesman.

On Tuesday, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said that a U.S. airstrike targeted al-Adnani in the Syrian city of al-Bab, which is northeast of Aleppo. He said the U.S. was "still assessing the results of the strike."

His death is a major blow to the extremist group, which has been on the retreat in Syria and Iraq.

Al-Adnani, whose real name is Taha Sobhi Falaha, persistently called for attacks against the West, which paid off in bloody notoriety with the Nov. 13 coordinated attacks in Paris that hit a concert hall, a stadium and restaurants and bars, leaving 130 people dead and hundreds wounded.

He was a Syrian who was born in the northern province of Idlib and is believed to have been in his late 30s. He crossed the border and joined al-Qaida in Iraq, a precursor to IS, after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

In late June 2014, he formally declared the establishment of a caliphate, or Islamic state, stretching across parts of Syria and Iraq, under the leadership of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and demanded allegiance from Muslims worldwide.</s>BEIRUT — The Islamic State group says its spokesman has been "martyred" in northern Syria.

The Islamic State-run Aamaq news agency said Tuesday that Abu Muhammed al-Adnani was "martyred while surveying the operations to repel the military campaigns against Aleppo," without providing further details.

Islamic State has released several audio files online in which Adnani, a senior leader in the group, delivers sermons urging followers to carry out attacks.

The extremist group has suffered a string of defeats in recent weeks, including in Syria's northern Aleppo province, where Turkish troops and allied Syrian rebels drove the Islamic State out of the border town of Jarablus last week.</s>CORRECTS NAME SPELLING - This undated image posted online Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016, by supporters of the Islamic State group on an anonymous photo sharing website, shows Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, IS's spokesman and chief strategist, who laid out the blueprint for the extremist group's attacks against the West. The IS-run Aamaq news agency said Tuesday, Aug 30, 2016, that al-Adnani was killed while overseeing operations in northern Syria, without providing further details. (Militant Photo via AP)

BEIRUT (AP) — Russia's Defense Ministry says its airstrike killed the Islamic State group's spokesman and chief strategist.

The Defense Ministry says in a statement on Wednesday that its intelligence has confirmed that a Russian airstrike on Aleppo province killed 40 IS militants, including spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani.

His death is a major blow to the extremist group, which has been on the retreat in Syria and Iraq.

The United States said it launched an airstrike targeting al-Adnani in the Syrian city of al-Bab, which is northeast of Aleppo. Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said on Tuesday the U.S. was "still assessing the results of the strike."

Al-Adnani persistently called for attacks against the West.</s>IS says spokesman Adnani killed in Syria's Aleppo

The Islamic State group on Tuesday said its spokesman Abu Mohamed al-Adnani was killed while monitoring military operations in the Syrian province of Aleppo.

The announcement came as a US defence official said an IS "senior leader" was targeted in a US-led coalition air strike Tuesday in Aleppo province.

"Coalition forces conducted an air strike in Al-Bab, Syria, targeting an (IS) senior leader," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"We are still assessing the results of the operation at this time."

Quoting a "military source", IS news agency Amaq said: "Sheikh Abu Mohamed al-Adnani, the spokesman of the Islamic State, was martyred while surveying operations to repel the military campaigns against Aleppo".

It said he died after a "long voyage crowned by sacrifice" and vowed "revenge" at the hands of a "new generation born unto the Islamic State".

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

"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 jihadist expert Romain Caillet.

Adnani was originally from the western Syrian province of Idlib and joined the jihadist movement in Iraq where he served now slain Al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and held several positions.

Aymenn Jawad Tamimi, an expert on jihadist groups, said Adnani's death "is significant symbolically and in pointing to the wider decline of the Islamic State".

"If a coalition air strike hit him, it shows intelligence penetration by the coalition is very high. Otherwise it would not have been possible to take out so many high-ranking figures," he said.

Another analyst, Charles Lister, tweeted that Adnani's death is a "big blow to IS".

Amaq did not say how Adnani was "martyred".

IS has regularly urged followers to target disbelievers.

Adnani made such request in September 2014, calling on supporters to use stones, knives or even vehicles in their attacks to kill French or US citizens.</s>An Islamic State flag is seen in this picture illustration taken February 18, 2016. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

BEIRUT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Islamic State group announced on Tuesday that one of its longest-serving and most prominent leaders, responsible for attacks overseas, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, had been killed in Aleppo province in Syria.

Adnani had been one of the last living senior members, along with self-appointed caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, that founded the group and stunned the Middle East by seizing huge tracts of Iraq and Syria in 2014.

As Islamic State's spokesman, he was its most visible member. As head of external operations, he was in charge of attacks overseas, including Europe, that have become an increasingly important tactic for the group as its core Iraqi and Syrian territory has been eroded by military losses.

Advances by Iraq's army and allied militia toward Islamic State's most important possession of Mosul have put the group under new pressure at a moment when a U.S.-backed coalition has cut its Syrian holdings off from the Turkish border.

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.

A U.S. counter-terrorism official who monitors Islamic State said that Adnani's death will hurt the militants "in the area that increasingly concerns us as the group loses more and more of its caliphate and its financial base ... and turns to mounting and inspiring more attacks in Europe, Southeast Asia and elsewhere".

Under Adnani's auspices, Islamic State has launched large-scale attacks, bombings and shootings, on civilians in several countries outside its core area, including France, Belgium and Turkey.

The official said Adnani's role as propaganda chief and director of external operations have become "indistinguishable" because the group uses its online messages to recruit fighters and provide instruction and inspiration for attacks.

Islamic State's Amaq News Agency reported that Adnani was killed "while surveying the operations to repel the military campaigns against Aleppo". Islamic State holds territory in the province of Aleppo, but not in the city where rebels are fighting Syrian government forces.

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 Aug. 29 but giving no further details.

Recent advances by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias, and by Syrian rebels backed by Turkey, have made inroads into Islamic State holdings in Aleppo province, cutting them off from the Turkish border and supply lines along it.

Iraqi army advances against the jihadist group meant that Baghdad was on track to retake Mosul from it by the end of this year, the head of the U.S. military's Central Command General Joseph Votel said earlier on Tuesday.

Among senior Islamic State officials to have been killed in airstirkes this year are both Abu Ali al-Anbari, Baghdadi's formal deputy, and the group's "minister of war", Abu Omar al-Shishani. Adnani had joined the group under its founder Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

There are conflicting reports as to where and how he died.

A senior Syrian rebel official said Adnani was most probably killed in the Islamic State-held city of al-Bab in an air strike. Citing unconfirmed reports, he said Adnani was in the Aleppo region to raise morale as the group comes under mounting pressure.

Hisham al-Hashimi, a security analyst who advises the Iraqi government on Islamic State, said Adnani was injured in a coalition strike on Aug. 17 near al-Rai, north of Aleppo, where Islamic State is fighting Turkish and U.S.-backed Syrian rebels.

Hashimi said he died from his wounds on Monday.

Islamic State's territory around Aleppo is of particular significance to the group because it is also the location of Dabiq, where an Islamic prophecy holds the last battle between Muslims and infidels will rage, heralding the end of time.

Iraq said in January that Adnani had been wounded in an air strike in the western province of Anbar and then moved to the northern city of Mosul, Islamic State’s capital in Iraq.

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 U.S. forces in Iraq, according to the Brookings Institution.

He was from a well-to-do background but left Syria to travel to Iraq in order to fight the U.S. forces there after its 2003 invasion, and only returned to his homeland after the start of its own civil war in 2011, a person who knew his family said. He has been the chief propagandist for the ultra-hardline jihadist group since he declared in a June 2014 statement that it was establishing a modern-day caliphate spanning swaths of territory it had seized in Iraq and neighboring Syria. Adnani has often been the face of the Sunni militant group, such as when he issued a message in May urging attacks on the United States and Europe during the holy month of Ramadan. 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. The United States designated him a "global terrorist" this year and says he was one of the first foreign fighters to oppose U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq since 2003 before becoming spokesman of the militant group. There is a $5 million reward on his head under the U.S. "Rewards for Justice" program.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant says its official spokesman, Abu Mohammad al-Adnani, has been killed in Syria's Aleppo Governorate. The group's statement, distributed by Amaq News Agency, did not say how al-Adnani was killed.