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Russia: Death of Daesh’s Baghdadi near 100% certain

June 23, 2017 at 9:05 am

The likelihood that Daesh leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi has been killed is close to 100 per cent, Interfax news agency quoted Viktor Ozerov, the head of the defence committee in the Russian upper house of parliament, as saying today.

“I think this information is close to 100 per cent,” the agency quoted Ozerov as saying. “The fact that Islamic State [Daesh] has still not shown him anywhere also adds to our confidence that Al-Baghdadi has been killed.”

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Russia had previously announced that an airstrike it carried out on 28 May in Daesh’s de facto capital, Raqqa, Syria, likely killed the leader of the group.

“According to information that is being verified through various channels, the leader of ISIS [Daesh]… Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi was also present at the meeting and was killed as a result of the strike,” the ministry said.

The United States confirmed that Russia conducted airstrikes on 28 May, a US official said.