ISIS Leader ‘Confirmed Killed,’ Watchdog Group Says

Iraqis celebrate while holding national flags in Tahrir square in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, July 10, 2017. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory against the Islamic State group in Mosul Monday evening, after nearly nine months of largely grueling urban combat. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

LONDON — Founder of the so-called Islamic State militant group has been killed, according to a claim by a group that monitors the war in Syria.

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it has “confirmed information” that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, 45.

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Citing an unnamed source, an Iraqi TV station also said al-Baghdadi has been killed, and a new successor will be appointed soon.

Russian ministry of foreign affairs previously said in June the Islamic State’s enigmatic leader was killed during a Russian air strike on May 28. It said the air raid targeted an IS meeting held on the southern outskirts of Raqqa in Syria and killed about 300 fighters, including a number of mid-level militants.

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