Assad doubts Al-Baghdadi's death: 'Important to know if it really took place'

RT
Thu, 28 Nov 2019 10:42 UTC

© U.S. DOD/Handout via Reuters

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's compound before and after an air strike

Islamic State was actually a US creation which they have never fought against for real, the Syrian President claimed, which makes him doubt the much-talked about killing of the group's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Less than a month ago, Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) confirmed the loss of its longtime chief, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and tapped his successor - but Bashar Assad thinks that even if he was killed, the reasons might not be that transparent. "Did it really happen? I do not know. That does not mean he was not killed, but if he was, it's not because he was a terrorist."

Reiterating his previous doubts about al-Baghdadi's death in a US-led operation in late October, Assad told France's Paris Match magazine the terrorist group was "manufactured by the Americans" and that its leader was "part of the comedy."

"The most important [thing] is whether al-Baghdadi was really killed, and whether this beautiful comedy presented by the Americans really took place," the Syrian President said.

The US military - that intervened into Syrian war with no authorization from Damascus - sat idle when IS was seizing on Syria's oil, he lamented. Likewise, they did nothing when the Islamists attacked Syrian army positions at Deir-ez-Zor; instead, American jets targeted Damascus' troops, Assad recalled.

Washington announced the killing of al-Baghdadi on October 27, telling the world that the terrorist leader perished in "a daring night-time raid" in northwest Syria. While the Pentagon released drone footage of the incursion, it offered little proof regarding the terrorist leader's demise itself, only saying that he - exactly like Osama bin Laden - was allegedly buried at sea.

Comment: RT, 28/11/2019: 'Can you imagine Syrian troops coming to France without an invitation?'

There's no major difference between supporting terrorism on Syrian soil and sending troops there without formal approval from its government, Bashar Assad said as he lambasted France's role in Syria's civil war.

Syria has "come a long way" toward defeating much of the terrorist insurgency on its soil, but pockets of resistance still remain as jihadists are receiving support from Turkey and Western countries, Bashar Assad told Paris Match magazine, singling out the US, the UK and "especially France." The French intervention amounted to an "occupation."

"Do you frankly think that we can send Syrian forces to fight terrorism in France without being invited by the French government? International law governs the behavior of states in the world, not [their] intentions. There is not a big difference between supporting terrorism and deploying the military to occupy a country."

Assad said Syria can handle the war without any backing from the West. "We can manage our own business ... But we want to come back to a world order that is no longer respected, because chaos reigns," he concluded.

See also: Assad doubts ISIS leader's death: 'Americans will respawn al-Baghdadi' like Bin Laden