Senator Viktor Ozerov is “nearly 100 percent” certain that earlier attack killed ISIS leaderRussia is continuing its efforts in the fight against Islamic State terrorism. Yahoo News reports missiles were launched at Syria’s Hama province from several frigates and a submarine positioned in the Mediterranean Sea. While Russian officials have not said when the attack was commenced, they have confirmed the destruction of key IS facilities.
Since 2015, when Russia sided with Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government, Russia has carried out missile strikes throughout Syria in an attempt to bring down IS.
On May 28, a similar strike was commenced, sending missiles to the outskirts of Raqqa, Syria. This attack is believed to have claimed the life of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Russian politician Viktor Ozerov has claimed the Russian Government is “nearly 100 percent” certain of his demise.
Al-Baghdadi has been reported severely injured or dead several times since 2015. Ozerov acknowledges the IS leader’s history of false death reports, but nonetheless seems sure the strike took him out:
“Russia would not want to be on the list of the countries that have said before that he was killed and then al-Baghdadi would resurrect,”
In 2011, the US government placed a $10 million bounty on al-Baghdadi’s head, which grew to $25 million in 2016. This is the same bounty offered for al-Qaeda leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri.
