Tribune Online
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Columns
  • Editorial
  • Entertainment
  • Politics
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Opinions
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Columns
  • Editorial
  • Entertainment
  • Politics
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Opinions
No Result
View All Result
Tribune Online
No Result
View All Result

Russia’s military says it may have killed IS leader Baghdadi

by Tribune Online
June 16, 2017
in World News
Reading Time: 4 mins read
A A
Russia’s military says it may have killed IS leader Baghdadi

MOSCOW said on Friday its forces may have killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in an air strike near the Syrian city of Raqqa last month.

There was no initial independent confirmation that Baghdadi had been killed. The US-led military coalition fighting against Islamic State said it could not confirm the death, and several Iraqi officials told Reuters they 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.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on its Facebook page that it was checking information that Baghdadi was killed in the strike, which it launched after receiving intelligence that a meeting of Islamic State leaders was being planned.

“On May 28, after drones were used to confirm the information on the place and time of the meeting of IS leaders, between 00:35 and 00:45, Russian air forces launched a strike on the command point where the leaders were located,” the statement said.

Related News

Russia to work with Burkina Faso to fight terror

U.S. supports NDLEA with forensic, intelligence, prosecution tools

My journey a testament to my mum’s US dream —Amanda Azubuike, US Army’s new Brigadier-General

“According to the information which is now being checked via various channels, also present at the meeting was Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was eliminated as a result of the strike,” the ministry said.

However, a colonel with the Iraqi national security service told Reuters Baghdadi was not believed to have been in Raqqa at the time of the strike in late May. One of Baghdadi’s aides may have been killed rather than Baghdadi himself, the colonel said.

He said that Baghdadi was believed to be operating cautiously in the border area between Iraq and Syria with just a handful of close aides, and avoiding using telecommunications equipment to evade surveillance.

Another Iraqi intelligence official said the Russians had not shared any information with Iraqi authorities to indicate Baghdadi was killed. Iraq was checking the report and would announce his death if it received “solid confirmation”.

Hoshiyar Zebari, a long-serving former Iraqi foreign minister and now a senior adviser to the government of the Kurdish autonomous region, also told Reuters there was no confirmation of Baghdadi’s death.


The Russian defense ministry statement said the strike was believed to have killed several other senior leaders of the group in addition to Baghdadi, as well as around 30 field commanders and up to 300 of their personal guards.

The IS leaders had gathered at the command center, in a southern suburb of Raqqa, to discuss possible routes for the militants’ retreat from the city, the statement said.

The United States was informed in advance about the place and time of the strike, the Russian military said.

Islamic State fighters are close to defeat in the twin capitals of the group’s territory, Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria, after nearly three years ruling over millions of people in a wide swathe of territory in both countries.

Born Ibrahim al-Samarrai, Baghdadi is an Iraqi in his mid-forties, who broke away from al Qaeda in 2013 after years participating in the insurgency against U.S. forces in Iraq and the Iraqi government. The U.S. State Department has offered a $25 million reward for information leading to his arrest.

A number of senior IS figures have been killed in air strikes or special forces raids since the United States launched its campaign against the group in 2014, including Baghdadi’s deputy Abu Ali al-Anbari, the group’s “minister of war” Abu Omar al-Shishani, and its media director Abu Muhammad al-Furqan.

Rami Abdulrahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, cast doubt on the report Baghdadi may have been killed. He said that according to his information, Baghdadi was located in another part of Syria at the end of May.

“The information is that as of the end of last month Baghdadi was in Deir al-Zor, in the area between Deir al-Zor and Iraq, in Syrian territory,” he said by phone.

 



Tags: ActivistBagdahdiIraqISISILMoscowRussiaSyriaUS
ShareTweetSendShareShare

Related News

Deaths in Turkey, Syria earthquake exceeds 11,000
Latest News

Deaths in Turkey, Syria earthquake exceeds 11,000

February 8, 2023
Baby girl survives massive Syria-Turkey earthquake
World News

Baby girl survives massive Syria-Turkey earthquake

February 8, 2023
Death toll in Turkey, Syria quake surpasses 7,000, Erdogan declares state of emergency
Top News

Death toll in Turkey, Syria quake surpasses 7,000, Erdogan declares state of emergency

February 8, 2023

Discussion about this post

Most Read

  • UPDATED: Supreme Court temporarily halts banning of old naira notes
    UPDATED: Supreme Court temporarily halts banning of old naira notes
  • Sterling Bank suspends transaction fees for all customers
    Sterling Bank suspends transaction fees for all customers
  • Enemies of the people: Nigerians react over Supreme Court's verdict on Naira Feb 10 deadline
    Enemies of the people: Nigerians react over Supreme Court's verdict on Naira Feb 10 deadline
  • Naira swap: Tinubu salutes APC Governors over Supreme Court ruling 
    Naira swap: Tinubu salutes APC Governors over Supreme Court ruling 
  • CBN staff's timely intervention stopped the burning of Eco Bank in Delta
    CBN staff's timely intervention stopped the burning of Eco Bank in Delta
  • Cash swap: Buhari cancels meeting with governors over court order
    Cash swap: Buhari cancels meeting with governors over court order
  • Buhari, CBN Governor in closed-door meeting hours after S/Court ruling
    Buhari, CBN Governor in closed-door meeting hours after S/Court ruling
  • 2023: Despite youth's support, Obi will not win election — Ned Nwoko
    2023: Despite youth's support, Obi will not win election — Ned Nwoko
  • MC Oluomo: Remove Lagos REC now, Atiku tells INEC
    MC Oluomo: Remove Lagos REC now, Atiku tells INEC
  • Wike approves free venue for APC presidential rally in Rivers
    Wike approves free venue for APC presidential rally in Rivers

Subscribe to e-Paper

E-Vending, e paper, pdf, e-paper, Tribune

Frontpage Today

EDITORIAL

Editorial
Opinion
Letters

BUSINESS

Capital Market
Money Market
Economy

ENTERTAINMENT

Friday Treat
Entertainment
Razzmattaz

REGIONS

South West
Niger Delta
Arewa

RELIGION

Tribune Church
Church News
Muslim Sermon
Eye of Islam
Islamic News
COLUMNS

Anike's Diary
Aplomb
Ask The Doctor
Autoclinic With The Mechanic
Awo's Thought
Borderless
Crucial Moment
Empowered For Life
Festus Adebayo's Flickers
Financewise
Gibbers
Intimacy
Language & Style
Leaders' Forum
Leadership & Management
Lynx Eye
Monday Lines
Mum & Child
Natural Health
Notes from Atlanta with Farooq Kperogi
On The Lord's Day
PENtagon
Political Panorama
Veritatem With Obadiah Mailafia
Voice of Courage
Whatsapp Conversation
You and Eye
Your Life Counts

WOMEN

Xquisite
Xquisite Food
Xquisite Style
Wondrous World of Women

MORE

Business Coach
Education
Event Digest
Crime & Court
Do It Yourself
Ecoscope
Property & Environment
Energy
Maritime
Aviation
Brands & Marketing
Agriculture
Info Tech
Labour
Leadership & Management
Achievers
Arewa Live
Arts & Culture
Arts & Reviews
Campus Beat
Politics
Health News
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Tribune Advertisement Rates

© 2023 Tribune Online, an online publication of African Newspapers of Nigeria Plc. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Columns
  • Editorial
  • Entertainment
  • Politics
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Opinions

© 2023 Tribune Online, an online publication of African Newspapers of Nigeria Plc. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist