Russia Claims It Has Killed Leader Of Islamic State Group

The Russian military claims it has killed the leader of the Islamic State group in an airstrike.

The ministry said Friday that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a Russian strike in late May along with other senior group commanders.

It said the air raid on May 28 that targeted an IS meeting held on the southern outskirts of Raqqa in Syria also killed about 30 mid-level militant leaders and about 300 other fighters.

The ministry said the strike came as IS leaders gathered to discuss the group’s withdrawal from Raqqa, the group’s de facto capital.