Russia claims killing Islamic State leader in Syria air strike

BEIRUT — Russia’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday that its air strike in northern Syria killed 40 Islamic State militants, including the militant group’s spokesman and chief strategist, who had laid out the blueprint for attacks against the West.

[...] Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said on Tuesday that a U.S. air strike targeted al-Adnani in the Syrian city of al-Bab, which is northeast of the city of Aleppo, the provincial capital.

Al-Adnani, whose real name is Taha Sobhi Falaha, persistently called for attacks against the West, which paid off in bloody notoriety with the Nov. 13 coordinated attacks in Paris that hit a concert hall, a stadium, restaurants and bars, leaving 130 people dead and hundreds wounded.

Followers of the Islamic State carried out attacks on several continents, including the Orlando shooting, the Nice truck attack in France and a massive suicide bombing in downtown Baghdad.

Aleppo is a focal point of the civil war in Syria, where the Islamic State, Syrian Kurdish forces, Turkey-backed rebels and President Bashar Assad’s forces are vying for control.