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Russia cannot confirm death of IS leader, says intelligence chief

On October 27, US President Donald Trump said that al-Baghdadi had been killed during a special operation in Syria’s Idlib Governorate

ST. PETERSBURG, November 15. /TASS/. Russia is unable to confirm the death of Islamic State (IS terrorist group, outlawed in Russia) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin said in response to a TASS question on Friday.

"We have no information or genetic samples that would prove this conclusively," he said.

On October 27, US President Donald Trump said that al-Baghdadi had been killed during a special operation in Syria’s Idlib Governorate. He thanked Russia, Iraq, Syria and Turkey for their assistance. Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said it had no reliable information on al-Baghdadi’s death. The international community called the killing of al-Baghdadi an important but not decisive step, calling for continuing the war on terror.