US Unaware of Baghdadis Location, Interested in Removal from Battlefield - Coalition

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd August, 2018) The United States is unaware of the current whereabouts of the leader of the Islamic State (IS, or Daesh banned in Russia) terrorist group, Abu Bakr Baghdadi, but is interested in eliminating him from the battlefield, a spokesperson for the Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) told Sputnik on Thursday.

"We are aware of the audio recording that is allegedly Baghdadi's voice, but it would be inappropriate for us to speculate or comment," the spokesperson said. "We do not know where Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is at this time, but he continues to be someone that we are interested in removing from the battlefield."

On Thursday, IS released an audio recording with a message allegedly from Baghdadi. The message is believed to be the first from the terrorist leader in almost a year.

Baghdadi is thought to be bedridden after suffering a serious injury, and is no longer in control of the day-to-day activities of the terrorist group, local media reports have said, citing intelligence sources.

The Alsumaria broadcaster reported that Baghdadi was wounded in June during an attack by the Iraqi Air Force on an IS-controlled Syrian village. Several terrorists were killed, while the rest, including Baghdadi, were seriously injured.

Baghdadi's death has been reported numerous times in recent years, but the terrorist leader has re-emerged each time.

In June 2017, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Baghdadi could have been killed as a result of a strike by the Russian Aerospace Forces on May 28, 2017, in the southern suburbs of Raqqa. But in September 2017, an alleged audio recording of Baghdadi emerged, casting fresh doubt on whether the terrorist leader is currently dead or alive.