On 5 March 2015, Syrian state media claimed that al-Shami had been killed in a Syrian Army operation in the Idlib Province. However, other sources, including the SOHR, reported that al-Shami had been killed by a US-led Coalition airstrike.[10][11][12] His death was never officially confirmed by the Pentagon or al-Nusra Front.[13][14] Reports of al-Shami's death were proven false when he was added to the U.S. State Department's Rewards for Justice wanted list on 12 September 2019.[15][1]