- Tue Jul 11, 2017 8:56 am
#90625
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told Reuters on Tuesday that it had "confirmed information" that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been killed. The death of Baghdadi, who declared a caliphate governed by Islamic law from a mosque in Mosul in 2014, is one of the biggest blows yet to the jihadist group.
Russia's Defense Ministry said in June that it might have killed Baghdadi when one of its air strikes hit a gathering of Islamic State commanders on the outskirts of the Syrian city of Raqqa.The United States put up a $25 million reward for his capture, the same amount as it had offered for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his successor Ayman al-Zawahri.