The Islamic State announced Tuesday that a senior official considered its second in command was killed in Syria, stripping the organization of its official public face.

Several news outlets reported the death of Abu Mohammed al-Adnani after ISIS's news agency said he died while surveying military operations near the northern city of Aleppo, and the SITE Intelligence Group provided a translated statement released by the terror organization shortly thereafter.

The Associated Press noted that there was "no immediate comment or confirmation from Washington of his death."

The State Department described al-Adnani thusly in a 2015 press release (ISIS referred to as ISIL herein):

Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, whose birth name is Taha Sobhi Falaha, is a senior leader of and official spokesman for ISIL. He is the main conduit for the dissemination of ISIL messages, including its declaration of ISIL's creation of an Islamic caliphate. In public statements, al-Adnani has repeatedly called for attacks against Westerners and has vowed "defeat" for the United States. The U.S. Department of State designated al-Adnani as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on August 18, 2014.

Time magazine has a run-down of al-Adnani's past here, and Tom Rogan wrote in THE WEEKLY STANDARD about ISIS's terror strategy that al-Adnani was tasked with espousing here.