Investigation into the 'Possible Death' of the Leader of the Islamic State Group in a Russian Airstrike

Less than a week after reports of the 'killing' of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State group, in Syrian territory, the Russian Ministry of Defense officially announced on Friday, June 16, that it is examining relevant information. Reuters reported on Friday, citing Russian news outlets, that the country's military is investigating information suggesting that the ISIS leader was killed near Raqqa, Syria, at the end of last month. These outlets, quoting the Russian Ministry of Defense, stated that the airstrike targeting a meeting of ISIS leaders and commanders took place on May 28. The Russian Ministry of Defense claims that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was apparently present at this meeting. This news comes five days after Syrian state television announced last Sunday that the ISIS leader was killed in an airstrike by Russian forces. According to Syrian television, the airstrike occurred on Saturday. However, the publication of this news on Sunday was not taken seriously, as it is not the first time reports of the Islamic State leader's death have emerged in the media. As the Jerusalem Post noted, in the past year, at least twice news of the death of the leader of this group, for whom a $25 million bounty has been placed, has been published and subsequently denied or refuted. If confirmed, this news could be a devastating blow and another sign that the Islamic State group has been in unprecedented straits in recent weeks. Earlier in June, Iraqi military officials officially announced that the country's security forces and army had begun the final phase of liberating Mosul by attacking the remaining parts of the city that were under the control of ISIS. A month prior, a spokesperson for the U.S. Central Command announced that one of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's aides, named Abdul Rahman al-Uzbeki, was killed in a ground operation by U.S. commandos in Syria. Al-Baghdadi, whose real name is Ibrahim al-Samarrai, 46 years old, separated from al-Qaeda in 2013, two years after the capture and killing of Osama bin Laden. He was raised in a religious family and studied Islamic theology in Baghdad. In 2003, he joined Salafi jihadist groups in Iraq that were fighting against U.S. forces and the central government.