UN says cannot verify credibility of US statement on al-Baghdadi's death
Spokesman for the UN Secretary General says the world body cannot verify the accuracy of the United States' claim on the death of Daesh leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
"We’ve taken note of the announcement by the President of the United States on the death of Abu Bakr al‑Baghdadi, the leader of the UN‑designated terrorist group Daesh," Farhan Haq said in a press briefing Monday.
However, he said the UN "cannot personally verify the accuracy of this."
" We trust the reliability of the various sources of information that have been speaking up, but, obviously, any sort of information would need to be verified by the various authorities on the ground," he noted.
When asked why the UN was only taking note of, and not welcoming the death of Daesh chief who was killed in a weekend operation, Haq stuck to the wording and refused to welcome the development.
"This is one of the events that we’ve taken note of. We’ve made very clear that any progress against Daesh is to be welcomed. The Secretary‑General and the many branches of the UN, including our offices dealing with political affairs, with counterterrorism and others, have repeatedly urged all Member States to work together in the fight against Daesh, and any progress against them is to be commended," he added.
"Daesh has committed heinous crimes and brought tragedy and death to thousands of men, women and children. And we should take this moment to remember the victims and families of victims of terrorism," Haq said.
Meanwhile, the US has confirmed the killing of Abu al-Hassan al-Muhajir, billed as Baghdadi’s right-hand man in the Syrian town of Jarablus in Aleppo province.
Also according to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, an American soldier has been killed while two terrorists captured during the operation to take out Baghdadi.
US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had blown himself up, dying "like a dog," and "like a coward" after American forces trapped him inside a dead-end tunnel in a village in Syria.
"Last night the United States brought the world's number one terrorist leader to justice," Trump said while addressing the media at the White House on Sunday.
The president said the Daesh leader detonated his suicide vest while “crying and whimpering” during an overnight raid by American special ops forces in Syria. He said the explosion was so strong that al-Baghdadi’s body was “mutilated” and the tunnel was destroyed but forensics teams were able to identify his remains.
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