Syrian Observatory Claims to Have Confirmation From Insider That Leader of ISIS Is Died
One month after Russia reported it had likely killed Islamic State (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi during a May airstrike in Syria, an independent group based in London cited sources within the terror group confirming that the head of the death cult is indeed dead.
War monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which has a track record of accurately reporting incidents from inside war-torn Syria, claimed that it was able to confirm al-Baghdadi's death. "(We have) confirmed information from leaders including one of the first rank in the Islamic State in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zor," said SOHR director Rami Abdulrahman.
He, however "could not say when al-Baghdadi died or whether he succumbed to injuries he sustained in an attack," except that the 45-year-old Iraqi-born leader is supposed to have been living in the Deir Ezzor area for the last three months. ISIS reportedly lifted the ban on discussions about his death.
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Another source of the news is Al Sumaria TV, which reported that ISIS gunmen issued a brief statement announcing their leader's death within the Iraqi province of Nineveh. The development has sparked a race to replace him, and there are claims that one of his top two lieutenants Iyad Al-Obaidi and Ayad Al-Jumaili could do so.
"Daesh organization (ISIS) circulated a brief statement through its media in the (ISIS-held) town of Tal Afar in the west of Mosul, confirming the killing of its leader al-Baghdadi without giving further details," Al Sumaria reported. It also hinted of an internal dispute brewing within the group.
"Daesh said that the name of a new caliph (Islamic top leader) will be announced soon, calling on the militants to continue their steadfastness in the redoubts of the caliphate and not being dragged behind the sedition," the new TV added. ISIS hadn't confirmed al-Baghdadi's death via its official news agency Amaq.
