The chief spokesman of the Islamic State (ISIS) was seriously injured in a recent airstrike in Iraq's Anbar province, reports said.
A statement from Iraq's Joint Operations Command said Thursday that Syrian-born Abu Mohammed al-Adnani was wounded after coalition airstrikes hit the Iraqi town of Barwanah, CNN reported.
"Adnani was first moved to the city of Hit for treatment after 'losing a large amount of blood.' He was then transferred to Mosul under tight security," according to the spokesman for Iraq's Joint Operations Command.
"He was given two bags of blood to help stabilise his medical condition."
The spokesman also told CNN that authorities had been chasing Adnani for more than a month prior to the airstrike.
Al-Adnani, who was born as Taha Sobhi Falaha, is believed to be second in line to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. He is considered as "ISIS most public figure'' because of the many audio recordings he had produced to promote the caliphate.
He was officially labeled a terrorist by the U.S. State Department in August 2014, describing him as "the official spokesman for and a senior leader" of ISIS. He reportedly obtained his post after becoming "one of the first foreign fighters to oppose coalition forces in Iraq.''
In June 2014, the terrorist leader became the first to declare a "caliphate" for parts of Syria and Iraq, indicating ISIS' aim of not just being a terrorist group but a governing entity as well. He was also vocal in calling for attacks outside the region, including his assertion that ISIS supporters in the West have a religious duty to launch lone-wolf attacks, CNN said.
Earlier between 2005 and 2010 during the Iraq conflict, Adnani was captured and spent time in custody at the U.S. detention facility in Camp Bucca
In May last year, a reward of up to $5 million was raised for any information leading to his arrest. That statement noted his "repeated calls for attacks against Westerns and (his having) vowed 'defeat' for the United States,'' the report said.
