Media: US military captured the leader of the Islamic State
The US military captured the leader of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The leader of the terrorist group is at the US military base in Syria, reports the Turkish newspaper Yeni Safak citing its sources.
According to the source of the newspaper, al-Baghdadi was captured in Iraq, and then taken to the US base in the Syrian city of Ras al-Ayn. After that, the leader of the terrorist organization was transported to a military base near the city of Al-Hasakah.
"The leader was captured along with seven commanders of the organization, one of whom is a citizen of Iraq," Yeni Safak’s source said. According to the newspaper, during the operation, al-Baghdadi was likely "wounded in the leg".
In mid-June, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that in late May, the Russian Air Force carried out an air strike on the outskirts of Raqqa, where a meeting of high-ranking members of the terrorist organization was held at the time. Allegedly, al-Baghdadi was killed during the raid. The head of the Russian Defense Ministry, Sergey Shoygu informed President Vladimir Putin about his death.
On November 29, former Russian air force commander in Syria Viktor Bondarev, citing "official sources", also claimed that al-Baghdadi was killed as a result of the air strikes in May.
Since then, no one has succeeded in confirming the death of al-Baghdadi. The Pentagon, as well as the representatives of the Iraqi command and Kurdish units, reported that the head of the Islamic State is alive, noting that "it became more difficult [for al-Baghdadi] to keep in touch and hold meetings with other members of the organization." However, they were unable to find any traces of al-Baghdadi on any of the IS bases captured during the offensive of the Syrian government army and the coalition forces.