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Killing Islamic State Leadership Is As Multifaceted As The Conflict In Syria

By Jon Mark
Published on: 18:38 PST, Aug 31, 2016

Over the last few days there have been reports that a spokesman for the Islamic State has been killed by a reaper drone.

According to The New York Times the Islamic State spokesman was Abu Muhammad al-Adnani and his death was originally reported by the Al-Amaq News Agency, which works closely with the terrorist group.

But there are apparently conflicting reports on this because the Pentagon claimed they were the ones who completed the airstrike, but the following day, Russia put out a statement claiming the kill.

Either way, it’s believed that the Islamic State will gladly report the kills of their militants — in this case to martyr al-Adnani — for the purposes of recruitment. But there are no other confirmations on the kill, aside from their own report and very little details on how that kill could be confirmed anyway, besides by trusted people on the ground.

Russian airstrike conducted on a truck carrying weapons in Aleppo. [Photo by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service photo/AP Images]
But the article attempts to take a guess at who the next possible replacement for al-Adnani might be, stating that, in the coming days, the self-proclaimed Islamic State Caliph al-Baghdadi will be getting together with others to select that replacement, which would be a perfect opportunity to strike and kill more militants, or perhaps it is merely intelligence unconfirmed.

Even more, there are no mentions in the report of the widely made claims that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had been killed.

Actually, it even suggests he could be killed without acknowledging those reports.

“Still, the Islamic State has proved to be remarkably resilient, American officials and counterterrorism specialists say, noting that the group, also known as ISIS or ISIL, has succession plans to replace even its top leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, should he be killed.”

Reports of his death were even acknowledge by Al-Amaq — the same news source mentioned here — which is also referred to in The New York Times article.

It also does not acknowledge the widely held view that al-Baghdadi might have been crippled or paralyzed by an strike early this year or sometime last year, or that he’s “shadowy” because the group would be compromised if he were to move around too much.

The former Islamic State spokesman is said to possibly be replaced by Turki al-Binali, who is said to be the group’s mufti. This image is of Syrian journalist Mohammed Zahir al-Sherqat who was a imam in al-Bab where al-Adnani is said to have been killed. al-Sherqat was killed by the Islamic State for his anti-extremist views. [Photo by Marwan Shawy/AP Photo]
Reuters provides more details of the possible killing of the spokesman, who was apparently killed in the Syrian town of al-Bab, which he apparently traveled to in order to try and boost the morale of other Islamic State militants.

UPI published an account claiming that Islamic State militants are not following orders to fight to the death and are instead, retreating in Manbij, which Inquisitr recently reported as being liberated.

The Islamic State is currently being fought by Kurdish militants from Northern Syria who many feel are more interested in taking the town of Manbij for themselves after it’s liberated.

This is where the latest conflict with Turkish troops comes in, because as reported by Inquisitr, Turkish soldiers — with the aid of the Free Syrian Army — decided to enter the Syrian border to push back the Kurds as well as fighting the Islamic State, which has not only confused the fight and caused the U.S. to make immediate decisions to protect their Kurdish allies, but has also made the future of the conflict uncertain.

Another report from the al-Amaq news service claims that an Islamic State suicide bomber in a vehicle attacked a group of YPG fighters in Manbij, which clearly shows the terrorist group taking advantage of the mounting attacks against the Kurds. The YPG is also considered a terrorist group by both the U.S. and the Turks, but they have proven themselves to be the most efficient fighters against the Sunni militants.

Currently, it isn’t clear just how well the coalition forces are able to fend off the Islamic State within the conflict. And while there have been many reports on the liberation of towns in Iraq, it is also unclear whether the Iraqi government has ended the territorial prospects of the Islamic State for good.

[Photo by Vadim Ghirda/AP Images]

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