Joe.My.God. LGBT News
The New York Times reports:
Russia’s military said on Friday that it was looking into whether one of its airstrikes in the Syrian desert killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-declared caliph of the Islamic State.
In a statement, the Defense Ministry said that the Russian Air Force struck a meeting of Islamic State leaders on May 28 outside Raqqa, Syria, the group’s de facto capital, possibly killing Mr. Baghdadi, one of the world’s most wanted terrorists.
The announcement hinted that Russia is close to claiming a major success in the fight against the Islamic State — one that has eluded the United States and its allies for years — and yet it left major questions unanswered.
The statement offered no explanation for the two-week delay in publicizing the airstrike. It was also not clear whether the Russian military knew in advance that Mr. Baghdadi was at the gathering, or learned of this possibility only after the strike.
Russia releases before/after photos of airstrike on compound ‘during a meeting of ISIS leaders’ in Raqqa, Syria https://t.co/KoXYxqbefm pic.twitter.com/Dr47kJioeK
— CNN (@CNN) June 16, 2017
Warplanes struck a meeting of Islamic State commanders in May; leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi might have been killed https://t.co/8YiaAbwRFt
— Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) June 16, 2017