(VOVworld) – Syrian media cited sources affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) that IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead, without elaboration. Other reports said al-Baghdadi was killed in a US airstrike in Syria.
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| IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi speaks at a mosque in Mosul. (Photo: AFP/VNA) |
Last week, the Iraqi Al Sumariya TV cited local sources in Iraq's Nineveh province that al-Baghdadi and other IS commanders were wounded by airstrikes against targets near the Syrian border. The US-led anti-terror coalition said it couldn't confirm the reports, but didn't deny carrying out airstrikes at that time and place.
Al-Baghdadi proclaimed himself Caliph of all Muslims in the world, which was considered absurd by moderate Muslims. His terrorist group has taken control of several large areas in Iraq and Syria.