Isis leader may be dead

No clarity yet after Russian raid

THE Russian army yesterday said it was seeking to verify whether Islamic State chief Abu Bakr alBaghdadi had been killed after its warplanes hit the group’s leaders in a night raid in Syria last month.

The US said it could not immediately confirm Baghdadi’s death.

In a statement, the army said Sukhoi warplanes carried out a 10-minute strike early on May 28 at a location near Raqa, where IS leaders had gathered to plan a pullout by militants from the group’s stronghold.

“Senior commanders of the military groups of the so-called IS military council, 30 midranking field commanders and up to 300 militants who provided security for them were eliminated,” it said.

“According to information which is being checked through various channels, the leader of Isil Ibrahim Abu-Bakr alBaghdadi was also present at the meeting and was eliminated by the strike,” it said.

The strike occurred on May 27 following confirmation of the meeting by a drone. Those killed included the so-called emir of Raqa and the IS security chief, the Russian statement said.

Russia informed the United States about the attack, the statement added.

Elusive Iraqi-born Baghdadi is the world’s most-wanted man.

The IS supremo has not been seen in public since proclaiming himself “caliph” in the Iraqi city of Mosul three years ago.

His group has earned global notoriety for imposing a hardline form of Islam that has included stonings, beheadings and amputations.

Its bastion of Raqa became a magnet for would-be jihadis from other countries.

Baghdadi has been rumoured wounded or killed a number of times in the past and is nicknamed “The Ghost”, as he has been reportedly spotted around the Syrian-Iraqi border but his whereabouts have never been confirmed.

In March, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson declared that Baghdadi’s death was imminent as “nearly all” of his deputies were dead and “it is only a matter of time” before the IS chief himself met the same fate.

The fighting in Raqa has caused alarm at the UN, whose investigators this week said civilian loss of life was staggering due to “excessive” air strikes. — AFP