ISIS Spokesman, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, Killed in Airstrike
The spokesman for ISIS, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, was killed Tuesday while overseeing operations in northern Syria, the terrorist group's Amaq news agency said.
The Pentagon could not confirm al-Adnani's death but said that the coalition forces carried out a "precision strike" that targeted him near a Syrian town by the Turkish border.
"We are still assessing the results of the strike, but al-Adnani's removal from the battlefield would mark another significant blow to ISIS," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said.
Al-Adnani was on the top of the United States's ISIS kill list with a $5 million bounty on his head. He is said to have been responsible for the attacks in Paris as well as Orlando.
"He was the mouthpiece of ISIS. He said things like, 'If you can't shoot them, then stab them, and if you can't stab them, then crush their heads with rocks. If you can't do that then drive your cars, your vehicles, to kill them,'" CNN reporter Nic Robertson said.
ISIS said they have not determined the cause of al-Adnani's death, but will "seek revenge" for the killing.
"To the filthy and coward non-believers and to the holders of the Christ emblem, we bring the good news, which will keep them awake, that a new generation in the Islamic State ... that loves death more than life ... this generation will only grow steadfast on the path to jihad, stay determined to seek revenge and be violent toward them," ISIS said in a statement.
The Pentagon is saying that the killing is a significant blow to the terrorist group.
"Al-Adnani has served as principal architect of ISIS's external operations and as ISIS's chief spokesman. 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 stated.
"The U.S. military will continue to prioritize and relentlessly target ISIS leaders and external plotters in order to defend our homeland, our allies and our partners, while we continue to gather momentum in destroying ISIL's parent tumor in Iraq and Syria and combat its metastases around the world," he said.
