The Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday it is checking on information indicating that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was reportedly killed in a Russia-led airstrike in Syria.
Russian Su-34 aircraft and an Su-35 multirole fighter carried out airstrikes near the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) stronghold of Raqqa in northern Syria on May 28, the ministry said. The strikes targeted a meeting of high-ranking Islamic State chiefs where al-Baghdadi was reportedly present.
The meeting was gathered to plan “routes for the exit of militants from Raqqa through the so-called ‘southern corridor’,” the statement read.
Russian Defence Ministry reports about the elimination of a number of leaders of ISIS in #SYRIA by Aerospace Forces https://t.co/JHxrvGPRLm — Минобороны России (@mod_russia) June 16, 2017
Russian Defence Ministry reports about the elimination of a number of leaders of ISIS in #SYRIA by Aerospace Forces https://t.co/JHxrvGPRLm
— Минобороны России (@mod_russia) June 16, 2017
“According to information, which is being checked through various channels, IS leader Ibrahim Abu-Bakr al-Baghdadi was also present at the meeting and was killed as a result of the strike,” the ministry said in a statement.
