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Russia's military says it may have killed IS leader; West, Iraq skeptical
Source: Reuters
WORLD NEWS | Fri Jun 16, 2017 | 10:08am EDT
Russia's military says it may have killed IS leader; West, Iraq skeptical
By Dmitry Solovyov and Ahmed Rasheed | MOSCOW/BAGHDAD
Moscow said on Friday its forces may have killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in an air strike in Syria last month, but Washington said it could not corroborate the death and Western and Iraqi officials were skeptical.
The secretive Islamic State leader has frequently been reported killed or wounded since he declared a caliphate to rule over all Muslims from a mosque in Mosul in 2014, after leading his fighters on a sweep through northern Iraq.
If the report does prove true, it would be one of the biggest blows yet to Islamic State, which is trying to defend its shrinking territory against an array of forces backed by regional and global powers in both Syria and Iraq.
But in the absence of independent confirmation, two U.S. officials said U.S. agencies were skeptical of the report. Several Iraqi security officials said Iraq was doubtful as well.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Russia's military says it may have killed IS leader; West, Iraq skeptical
By Dmitry Solovyov and Ahmed Rasheed | MOSCOW/BAGHDAD
Moscow said on Friday its forces may have killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in an air strike in Syria last month, but Washington said it could not corroborate the death and Western and Iraqi officials were skeptical.
The secretive Islamic State leader has frequently been reported killed or wounded since he declared a caliphate to rule over all Muslims from a mosque in Mosul in 2014, after leading his fighters on a sweep through northern Iraq.
If the report does prove true, it would be one of the biggest blows yet to Islamic State, which is trying to defend its shrinking territory against an array of forces backed by regional and global powers in both Syria and Iraq.
But in the absence of independent confirmation, two U.S. officials said U.S. agencies were skeptical of the report. Several Iraqi security officials said Iraq was doubtful as well.
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Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-baghdadi-idUSKBN1970O2
