Aboard Air Force One - Arab Today
The White House does not have evidence suggesting Russia was involved in an airstrike that killed Daesh leader Abu Muhammad Al-Adnani, a spokesman said on Wednesday.
The US and its coalition partners carried out a strike on Tuesday against Adnani, one of the last living senior members of the terror group.
Moscow has claimed that Russian airstrikes in Syria on Tuesday had killed Adnani, who served as a spokesman for Daesh.
“I am not aware of any facts that would substantiate a claim like that,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters on Air Force One.
Earnest said Adnani “has been a leading proponent of a strategy that encourages individuals to carry out lone wolf attacks around the world,” and that he played an active role in recruiting support for Daesh.
Daesh said on Tuesday that Adnani was killed in an airstrike in Aleppo province.
Earlier on Wednesday, a US defense official told Reuters that Russia's claim was a “joke.”
Source: Arab News