Russian Lawmaker: ISIS leader Baghdadi likely dead after Russian strike in May

Russian lawmaker Alexei Pushkov stated that according to the data of the Russian side the probability of Daesh leader al-Baghdadi’s death after Russian airstrikes is about 100 percent.

Russian information about Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State terrorist group (ISIL or Daesh, banned in Russia) has very likely been eliminated during a Russian-led airstrike last month, Russian lawmaker Alexei Pushkov told Sputnik on Thursday.

The lawmaker noted that information received from different sources indicated that there was a power struggle within the Daesh for its top position, which serves as signal that al-Baghdadi is dead.

Earlier in June, the Russian Defense Ministry said al-Baghdadi was likely eliminated as a result of a Russian Aerospace Forces strike on a militant command post in the southern suburb of the city of Raqqa in late May. It noted that it was in the process of confirming the information through various channels.

Al-Baghdadi appeared in the media for the first time in 2014 when he declared the creation of a caliphate in the Middle East. Since then, the media have reported several times about the death of the Daesh leader, though the information has never been confirmed.

Source: Sputnik