'No Confirmation' That Islamic State Leader al-Baghdadi Killed in Russian Airstrike

June 16, 2017

Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi AP Photo / Militant video

Russia's Foreign Minister has downplayed reports that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi may have been killed in a Russian airstrike.

Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed in a press conference on Friday that he had "no 100 percent confirmation" on al-Baghdadi's demise.

His statement came just hours after the Russian Defense Ministry announced the terrorist leader may have been killed in the Syrian city of Raqqa.

Russian planes carried out a large bombardment in the southern suburbs of the de-facto Islamic State capital on May 28, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

The Islamic State is a terrorist organization banned in Russia.

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