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Article snippet: MOSCOW — Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-declared caliph of the Islamic State, in what would be a major military achievement for Russia. In a statement issued to Russian news agencies, the Defense Ministry said that the Russian Air Force struck a meeting of Islamic State leaders on May 28 outside the city of Raqqa, Syria, the group’s de facto capital, possibly killing Mr. Baghdadi, one of the world’s most wanted terrorists. The statement, however, was written cautiously, suggesting that the Russian military remained uncertain about whether the strike had killed Mr. Baghdadi, a prize sought by several countries in the long struggle against the Islamic State. “According to information which we are checking through various channels, the leader of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was at the meeting and the strike destroyed him,” the statement said. Raqqa has been under attack on the ground by American-backed Kurdish and Arab forces, which have been closing in during recent weeks. An American-led coalition of Western and Arab air forces is also attacking Raqqa. The Russian statement made no mention of coordination with foreign forces in the strike. It was also unclear whether the Russian military knew in advance that Mr. Baghdadi was at the gathering, or learned of this possibility only after the strike. The Russian military does not draw a sharp separation between its psychological warfare operations and its media office, meaning the statement’s purpose could b... Link to the full article to read more