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WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Pentagon on Monday confirmed a U.S. airstrike on Aug. 30 that targetted Abu Muhammad Al-Adnani, the longtime Islamic State (IS) spokesman, was successful.
Calling Al-Adnani IS' chief propagandist, recruiter and architect of external operations, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said in a statement that the strike near Al Bab, Syria, was one in a series of strikes against IS leaders.
"As we continue to gather momentum in our counter-ISIL campaign, we will continue to target ISIL leaders, relentlessly pursue its external plotters," said Cook, using another acronym of the extremist group.
Al-Adnani was known for his calls for lone-wolf attacks in the West and his call to intensify attacks this summer had so far resulted in one of the bloodiest months of Ramadan in decades.
Born in the countryside of the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, al-Adnani was also among the first group of foreign fighters against U.S. invasion in Iraq in 2003.
