Who killed top Daesh terrorist - Russia or the US?
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Competing claims about killing Al Adnani spark verbal sparring
Abu Mohammad Al Adnani.
Almost two weeks after a drone strike targeted one of Daesh’s top
leaders, the Pentagon said on Monday that the terrorist - Abu Mohammad
Al Adnani - was confirmed dead.
In a statement, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook offered no explanation to how the United States confirmed Al Adnani’s death or why it took so long.
“[The strike] is one in a series of successful strikes against [Daesh] leaders, including those responsible for finances and military planning, that make it harder for the group to operate,” Cook said.
On August 30, the Pentagon said it had struck Al Adnani near the town of Al Bab, Syria, but — at the time — could not confirm if he was dead. That same day, Daesh, over its social media networks, said that Al Adnani had been killed in an air strike while inspecting troops on the front line, though it did not specify exactly where he had died.
On August 31, Russia, citing “intelligence channels,” said it had also eliminated Al Adnani during an air strike on a group of Daesh fighters 16 miles west of where the Pentagon said it had targeted him.
A Syrian national, Al Adnani was responsible for helping craft some of Daesh’s most gruesome execution videos and calling for terrorist attacks outside of the group’s self-proclaimed caliphate. He was also seen as a possible successor to Daesh’s leader, Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi.
The competing strike narratives between the United States and Russia set off a bout of verbal sparring as they simultaneously took credit for Al Adnani’s death. Unnamed US defence officials told reporters that Russia’s narrative was “laughable” and so the Russian Ministry of Defence took to social media to lambast the Pentagon. In a Facebook post, the Russian Ministry of Defence said that American officials calling Russia’s claims a “joke” was the “sole thing they can say to justify their unawareness”.
A senior defence official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, said that the Pentagon waited longer than usual to ensure — through intercepted communications — that Al Adnani had in fact been killed, because it had been “burned” in the past. Last year, Al Adnani was reportedly targeted in a US strike but survived.
In March, the Pentagon also said it had killed Daesh’s minister of war, Omar Shishani, when it, in fact, did not. Daesh announced Shishani’s death in July after a US air strike targeted him — again — near the Iraqi city of Mosul.
The United States, after almost 15 years of near-constant conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, has nearly perfected the act of eliminating the senior leadership of terrorist organisations — widely known as “whack-a-mole” through drone strikes and special operations raids. It is unclear, however, how effective these strikes actually are as the deceased leaders are often soon replaced. Since the start of the air campaign over Syria and Iraq in 2014, the Pentagon has claimed to have killed over 45,000 Daesh fighters, leaving roughly 15,000 fighters on the battlefield. In May, Russian officials estimated that the small contingent of Russian aircraft based in Syria had killed 28,000 Daesh fighters. The group’s strength in 2014 was estimated to between 20,000 and 30,000.
The Russian air campaign over Syria, which began in the fall of 2015 under the guise of fighting terrorism, has received criticism for instead propping up Syrian President Bashar Al Assad and targeting civilian-populated areas with inhumane munitions including cluster and incendiary bombs. While Russia has supported Syrian ground troops and government-aligned militias, mainly around the embattled Syrian opposition stronghold of Aleppo, with air strikes and artillery, Russian forces have sporadically struck Daesh targets with heavy bombers, ship- and submarine-launched cruise missiles and bombing runs.
In a statement, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook offered no explanation to how the United States confirmed Al Adnani’s death or why it took so long.
“[The strike] is one in a series of successful strikes against [Daesh] leaders, including those responsible for finances and military planning, that make it harder for the group to operate,” Cook said.
On August 30, the Pentagon said it had struck Al Adnani near the town of Al Bab, Syria, but — at the time — could not confirm if he was dead. That same day, Daesh, over its social media networks, said that Al Adnani had been killed in an air strike while inspecting troops on the front line, though it did not specify exactly where he had died.
On August 31, Russia, citing “intelligence channels,” said it had also eliminated Al Adnani during an air strike on a group of Daesh fighters 16 miles west of where the Pentagon said it had targeted him.
A Syrian national, Al Adnani was responsible for helping craft some of Daesh’s most gruesome execution videos and calling for terrorist attacks outside of the group’s self-proclaimed caliphate. He was also seen as a possible successor to Daesh’s leader, Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi.
The competing strike narratives between the United States and Russia set off a bout of verbal sparring as they simultaneously took credit for Al Adnani’s death. Unnamed US defence officials told reporters that Russia’s narrative was “laughable” and so the Russian Ministry of Defence took to social media to lambast the Pentagon. In a Facebook post, the Russian Ministry of Defence said that American officials calling Russia’s claims a “joke” was the “sole thing they can say to justify their unawareness”.
A senior defence official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, said that the Pentagon waited longer than usual to ensure — through intercepted communications — that Al Adnani had in fact been killed, because it had been “burned” in the past. Last year, Al Adnani was reportedly targeted in a US strike but survived.
In March, the Pentagon also said it had killed Daesh’s minister of war, Omar Shishani, when it, in fact, did not. Daesh announced Shishani’s death in July after a US air strike targeted him — again — near the Iraqi city of Mosul.
The United States, after almost 15 years of near-constant conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, has nearly perfected the act of eliminating the senior leadership of terrorist organisations — widely known as “whack-a-mole” through drone strikes and special operations raids. It is unclear, however, how effective these strikes actually are as the deceased leaders are often soon replaced. Since the start of the air campaign over Syria and Iraq in 2014, the Pentagon has claimed to have killed over 45,000 Daesh fighters, leaving roughly 15,000 fighters on the battlefield. In May, Russian officials estimated that the small contingent of Russian aircraft based in Syria had killed 28,000 Daesh fighters. The group’s strength in 2014 was estimated to between 20,000 and 30,000.
The Russian air campaign over Syria, which began in the fall of 2015 under the guise of fighting terrorism, has received criticism for instead propping up Syrian President Bashar Al Assad and targeting civilian-populated areas with inhumane munitions including cluster and incendiary bombs. While Russia has supported Syrian ground troops and government-aligned militias, mainly around the embattled Syrian opposition stronghold of Aleppo, with air strikes and artillery, Russian forces have sporadically struck Daesh targets with heavy bombers, ship- and submarine-launched cruise missiles and bombing runs.
Targeting a senior leader such as Al Adnani is a rare move for the
Russian air campaign. Russian aircraft have only sometimes used some of
the more advanced precision munitions that are a hallmark of the US
campaign over Syria and Iraq, and has instead mostly used unguided or
“dumb” bombs. While Russia has been accused of killing civilians in its
strikes, the United States and its international partners are estimated
to have killed between 1,000 and 1,500 civilians, according to
AirWars.org.
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