Globe Trot: Airstrike kills ISIS ‘attack dog’

SYRIA: An airstrike killed ISIS spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, according to an Islamic State statement issued late yesterday.

It was Al-Adnani—who effectively served as ISIS’s No. 2 man under Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, heading up its secret intelligence wing and arranging attacks in France—who declared unequivocal war on the West in 2014: “We will conquer your Rome, break your crosses, and enslave your women.”

Al-Adnani (The Daily Beast has posted a good bio) was regarded as the ISIS “attack dog” and was distinguished by ties back to al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, killed by U.S. forces in 2006.

The Pentagon confirmed the kill yesterday, saying coalition forces carried out the “precision strike” near Al-Bab, Syria, but today Russia tried to take credit for killing al-Adnani.

MEXICO: Donald Trump announced plans to visit Mexico City today and meet with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, just hours before the Republican presidential nominee is set to deliver a speech on immigration in Arizona. Trump’s Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, also received an invitation to visit Peña Nieto but has not accepted.

IRAN: Authorities arrested five Iranian Christians last Friday—and friends and family are unable to determine where they are being held. The Iranian regime has jailed more than 200 Christians since 2015.

NIGERIA: One of the top Christian leaders in northern Nigeria said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit last week was “divisive” and “has heightened fear and tension among Christians.”

Malnutrition has reached catastrophic levels in northeastern Nigeria, the area most under the control of Boko Haram.

WEATHER: Back-to-back hurricanes in the Pacific are considered unprecedented. In Norway, officials have confirmed that a severe storm and lightning strikes killed more than 300 reindeer.