Russia says, Islamic State leader Baghdadi ‘may have been killed’
Defence ministry of Russia is investigating whether one of its air strikes in Syria had killed the leader of the Islamic State militant group (IS).
The ministry has said that an air strike may have killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and up to 330 other fighters on 28th May.
The ministry said that it the strike had targeted a meeting of IS commanders in Raqqa the de facto capital of the state. Some 30 IS commanders and 300 soldiers were present at the meeting.
However there have numerous claims of Baghdadi’s death previously.
How this is the first time, that Russia has claimed that it may have killed the IS leader. Previous media reports have claimed that Baghdadi had been killed or critically injured by US-led coalition air strikes.
A statement by Russia’s defence ministry published by the state-funded Sputnik news agency said 30 IS commanders and up to 300 soldiers were at the Raqqa meeting.
“According to information that is checked through various channels, IS leader Ibrahim Abu-Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was killed as a result of the strike, was also present at the meeting,” it added.
Colonel John Dorrian, who is the spokesman for the US-led coalition, has said that the US could not confirm whether Baghdadi had been killed.
Syria’s government has made no official comment on the matter.
The whereabouts of Baghdadi have been unknown for some time, while he was believed to be in Mosul in Iraq before a US-led coalition began an effort to reclaim the city in October 2016.
In March, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had said that “nearly all” of Baghdadi’s deputies had been killed.
He had added that “It is only a matter of time before Baghdadi himself meets this same fate.”
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