The Pentagon has learned one thing in the time since Russia has been bombing in Syria: It rarely, if ever, targets the Islamic State, and instead has a single-mined focus on propping up the regime of its ally, Syrian President Bashar Assad.
So when Russia tried to take credit for Tuesday’s reported death of a major Islamic State leader, Abu Mohammad al-Adnani, the U.S. dismissed it as opportunistic propaganda.
But the Russian defense ministry didn’t just claim to have killed Adnani, it said it had wiped out more than three dozen Islamic State militants who had gathered in Aleppo province with a single SU-34 bomber.
At first, some in the Pentagon thought Russia was genuinely confused. “Maybe it’s just a misunderstanding on their part,” offered Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook.
After all, Russia’s military, formidable though it may be, lacks many of the high-tech sensors, and 24/7 drone surveillance the U.S. employs over the busy Syrian battlespace.
But upon further review, the U.S. is coming to a different conclusion, namely that the supposed Russian airstrike never happened.
“We obviously watch what goes on on the battlefield very closely, and we are aware of where people fly, and where people strike, and we have no seen any evidence that supports the Russian claim,” said Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis Thursday.
Pentagon officials say they have every reason to believe that Adnani, the Islamic State’s chief spokesman and number two in Syria, was killed when a U.S. drone unleashed a hellfire missile and destroyed the vehicle he was believed to be traveling in near al Bab Syria. But with no forces on the ground it has yet to confirm the kill.
It may also come down to what Islamic State said about it. The terrorist group announced Adnani’s death Tuesday, shortly after the U.S. strike.
