Syrian Monitoring Group Says IS Leader Baghdadi Is Dead

[TomSea]

Syrian Monitoring Group Says IS Leader Baghdadi Is Dead
July 11, 2017 12:42 GMT

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says it has received "confirmed information" from sources within the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group that IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead.

In a statement on July 11, observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said Baghdadi died in Deir al-Zor Province in eastern Syria, but he did not say when or how.

The Reuters news agency reported that the U.S. Pentagon has no information to corroborate the reports of Baghdadi's death.

Earlier in the day, Iraq's Al-Sumaria television station cited an IS source as confirming Baghdadi's death.

Read more at: https://www.rferl.org/a/syria-baghdadi-dead-islamic-state/28610399.html

[240B]

From what I am reading from several outlets, this is 'fake news'.


The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says it has received "confirmed information" from sources within the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group that IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead.

Yeah, sure! That seems like a reliable source. Until forces on the ground test and verify his body, this is simply propaganda by Baghdadi to try to take the pressure off. He is trying to misdirect allied forces away from him.

[TomSea]

From what I am reading from several outlets, this is 'fake news'.

Maybe others can see these "several outlets".


Others reporting this:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/07/11/isil-leader-baghdadi-confirmed-deadsyrian-watchdog-claims/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-4685444/Syria-monitor-says-IS-chief-Abu-Bakr-al-Baghdadi-dead.html

http://www.india.com/news/world/isis-chief-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-dead-claims-syrian-observatory-2312155/

http://www.news.com.au/world/middle-east/the-syrian-observatory-for-human-rights-says-is-chief-abu-bakr-albaghdadi-confirmed-dead/news-story/0d0d86fd6fccccc681bd9d670719dda4

http://hotair.com/archives/2017/07/11/iraqi-news-isis-announced-death-caliph-al-baghdadi/

https://www.today.ng/news/world/313278/confirms-death-leader-baghdadi

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/232311

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-11/syrian-observatory-has-confirmed-information-is-leader-killed/8699364

http://112.international/society/isis-leader-al-baghdadi-dies-18749.html

Etc.

The Atlantic:

Is ISIS Leader Al-Baghdadi Dead?

This time his death was reported by the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, which is typically seen as reliable.

The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights says Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the ISIS leader, is dead.

The group did not cite a source, though Agence France-Press reported that the claim was based on high-level ISIS sources. ISIS’s media channels dismissed the account. The news, which comes two weeks after Russia said the ISIS leader was killed in an airstrike near Raqqa, Syria, appears to have been confirmed by President Trump.

Continued: https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2017/07/isis-baghdadi-dead/533193/

Trump tweets today as shown in The Atlantic article:

Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump

Big wins against ISIS!
7:23 AM - 11 Jul 2017

So, no, he does not specifically mention ISIS.

It's interesting that even editors at wikipedia, participants iow, have placed his death as June 2017 as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Bakr_al-Baghdadi

Of course, none of this is conclusive. It is news all the same.

[TomSea]

Iraqi News: ISIS announced death of “caliph” al-Baghdadi

Ed Morrissey Posted at 8:41 am on July 11, 2017

Rumors of the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi have floated for weeks, with Russia insisting that one of its air strikes took out the self-proclaimed “caliph” of ISIS last month. Just a few days ago, the terror organization executed one of its preachers for accidentally referencing Baghdadi’s death. Today, however, Iraqi News picked up reports from the city of Tal Afar that ISIS has announced the death of its leader — and that civil war has begun within the organization to determine who succeeds him

http://hotair.com/archives/2017/07/11/iraqi-news-isis-announced-death-caliph-al-baghdadi/

[240B]

All of that is good. Great really. But it does not mean that U.S. forces will stop looking for him all over the world.


It is common for Islamic leaders to claim 'death', and then slip away to Africa or South America. U.S. services are watching for him to show up somewhere, regardless of how 'dead' ISIS claims he is.

[TomSea]

On 11 June 2017, Syrian state TV has claimed al-Baghdadi has been killed in the artillery strike that was backed by the US.[156][157]

On 16 June 2017, Russian media reported that al-Baghdadi might have been killed in a Russian air strike near Raqqa, Syria on 28 May.[158][159] The United States cast doubt on the claim, noting a lack of independent evidence.[160]

On 23 June 2017, Russian politician Viktor Ozerov stated that al-Baghdadi's death was almost "100% certain".[161] Iran later claimed to confirm Russia's claim that Al-Baghdadi was killed in an airstrike.[162]

On 29 June 2017, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), an Iranian government propaganda arm, published an article quoting a representative for Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stating that al-Baghdadi was "definitely dead". IRNA removed this quotation in an updated version of this article.[163]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Bakr_al-Baghdadi

The first above, that would be great if a US strike got him. Of course, we don't know if he is dead but it doesn't do any harm to show a number of news outlets are reporting what the monitoring group said.