IS leader ‘was not killed in Russian attack’

THE leader of Islamic State is believed to be alive and hiding in Syria – despite reports he had been killed.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was thought to have died in a Russian airstrike on the terror group near Raqqa in May.

But a Kurdish counter-terrorism official said there was intelligence suggesting this was not the case.

Lahur Talabany, who has been at the forefront of attempts to track down Baghdadi, said: ‘Baghdadi is definitely alive. He is not dead. We have information that he is alive. We believe 99 per cent he is alive.’

The IS chief has frequently been reported killed or wounded since he declared a caliphate in Mosul, northern Iraq, in 2014. Mr Talabany added: ‘Don’t forget his roots go back to Al Qaeda days in Iraq. He was hiding from security services. He knows what he is doing.’

Iraqi security forces last week ended three years of IS rule in Mosul. The terror group is also under increasing pressure in its Raqqa stronghold.