Abu Muhammad al-Adnani | |
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أبو محمد العدناني | |
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Born | Taha Sobhi Falaha 1977[2][3] |
Died | 30 August 2016 | (aged 38–39)
Cause of death | Air strike |
Nationality | Syrian |
Occupation | Official spokesman of the Islamic State |
Successor | Abul-Hasan al-Muhajir |
Movement | ![]() |
Criminal charge(s) | Designated a terrorist by the United Nations Security Council and the US State Department[4][5] |
Taha Sobhi Falaha (Arabic: طٰهٰ صُبْحِيِّ فَلَاحَةٍ, romanized: Ṭāhā Ṣobḥī Falāḥa; 1977 – 30 August 2016), better known by his nom de guerre Abu Muhammad al-Adnani al-Shami (Arabic: أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ ٱلْعَدْنَانِيُّ ٱلشَّامِيُّ, romanized: ʾAbū Muḥammad al-ʿAdnānī aš-Šāmī, lit. 'Father of Muhammad, the Adnanite Levantine'), was a Syrian militant leader who was the official spokesperson and a senior leader of the Islamic State.[6][7] He was described as the chief of its external operations. He was the second most senior leader of the Islamic State after its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.[4] Media reports in August 2016 suggested he was in charge of a special unit, known as the Emni, that was established by IS in 2014 with the double objective of internal policing and executing operations outside IS territory.[8][9]
On 5 May 2015, the U.S. State Department Rewards for Justice Program announced a reward up to US$5 million for information leading to his capture.[2][10]
On 30 August 2016, the Islamic State announced al-Adnani had been killed in Aleppo Province. A number of fighting forces claimed responsibility for al-Adnani's death. On 12 September 2016, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that a U.S. coalition airstrike had killed al-Adnani,[11] even though the Russian Federation had already claimed that Adnani had been killed in a Russian airstrike involving an Su-34 bomber.[12][13]