Russia Claims Responsibility For Killing Islamic State Spokesman In Syria Strike

Undated file photo from ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) or Islamic State group or Daesh (Daech), taken in Homs area, Syria, in 2015 and published by the group on their web pages. Islamic State has claimed resp... Undated file photo from ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) or Islamic State group or Daesh (Daech), taken in Homs area, Syria, in 2015 and published by the group on their web pages. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the coordinated attacks across Paris that has left at least 132 dead, in what the French president described as "an act of war". In an online statement, the group said it had carried out the shootings and suicide bombings at restaurants, a concert hall and a football stadium that led to a state of national emergency and boosted border controls. Photo by Balkis Press/Sipa USA MORE LESS
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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.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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