The United States has no information supporting Russia’s claim that it carried out a strike against Islamic State senior leader Mohammad al-Adnani, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook told reporters Wednesday.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement Wednesday that a Russian Su-34 bomber carried out a strike against as many as 40 ISIS militants, including Adnani. The claim came after the Pentagon said on Tuesday that it had carried out a precision strike targeting Adnani near Al Bab, Syria.
"We have no information to support Russia’s claim that they also carried out a strike" targeting Adnani, Cook told reporters on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, an unnamed U.S. defense official who spoke to CNN described the claim as "laughable." Cook passed up the opportunity to agree with that characterization, but emphasized that Russia has largely focused on supporting the Assad regime in Syria and not on taking out top ISIS leaders.
"Russia has spent most of its time and military campaign propping up the Assad regime," Cook said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that "several intelligence channels" had confirmed that Adnani was among a large group of militants targeted by a Russian airstrike on Tuesday.
"On August 30, 2016, Russia’s Su-34 bomber destroyed by an airstrike in the area of Ma’arat Umm Hawsh a large group of IS militants comprising up to 40 people. According to reports confirmed by several intelligence channels, field commander Abu Mukhammad al-Adnani, better known as ‘the official spokesperson’ of the international terrorist group Islamic State, was among the liquidated terrorists," the ministry said in a statement carried by Russia’s TASS News Agency.
According to the Pentagon, an airstrike launched by the U.S.-led coalition on Tuesday targeted Adnani, a chief spokesman and recruiter for ISIS who has encouraged external attacks.
ISIS announced publicly Tuesday that Adnani had been killed in the area of Aleppo, Syria. Cook said Wednesday that the United States is "still assessing the results of the strike."