al-baghdadi. >> reporter: the state department calls abu muhammad al-adnani a specially designated global terrorist and has a $5 million bounty on his head. u.s. officials tell cnn he's not only isis' spokesman but gives key direction on external plotting. >> he's like one of those executive vps who gets his hands dirty and is a troubleshooter and does stuff that affected the reality on the ground. >> a recent defector from one of isis' security services told me that forget about his official role as the spokesman of isis, al-adnani runs all of syria. >> reporter: september 2014, abu muhammad al-adnani issues an audio message calling for lone wolf attacks which analysts say was a game changer. he called on followers to kill americans s iand what he calle filthy french and said smash their heads with rocks or slaughter them with knives. >> i think it was his declaration of war, essentially.