The leader of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq (ISIS), Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, has reportedly been killed.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told the news agency Reuters that it had confirmed information received that al-Baghdadi has been killed.
The Iraqi army recently regained the IS stronghold of Mosul after heavy fighting.
“(We have) confirmed information from leaders, including one of the first rank who is Syrian, in the Islamic State in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zor,” said Rami Abdulrahman, the director of the British-based war monitoring group.
This is not the first time Baghdadi has been reported dead – Russia claimed they had killed him only last month, alongside many other reports over the years – however, Reuters says the Syrian Observatory have a credible record of reporting on the Syrian conflict.
So far, neither the US military nor Reuters have been able to independently verify the news.
Read full Reuters report here…