While Russia still has no independent confirmation that US forces have killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Donald Trump is due credit if they did, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman has said.
“The news itself can’t be taken negatively by the Russian authorities,” Dmitry Peskov said. “Indeed, our troops saw American planes and American drones in the area, which may have been on a mission there.”
Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry cast doubt on Washington’s claim of al-Baghdadi’s death, saying there’s no credible data to prove his demise. If confirmed, however, Trump’s efforts should be recognized, Peskov believes.
If indeed the information about al-Baghdadi’s elimination is confirmed, then we can talk about the US president’s significant contribution to the fight against international terrorism.
Moscow’s skepticism is not unfounded, seeing as how rumors of al-Baghdadi’s grave injury or death have surfaced repeatedly for the past four years, only to be later dispelled. Trump, however, has teased that some footage of his ultimate takedown at the hands of US troops could be released at some point.
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