The likelihood that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been killed is close to 100 percent, Interfax news agency quoted the head of the defense committee in Russia's upper parliamentary house.
Russia's defense ministry said a week ago it believed it may have killed Baghdadi when one of its air strikes hit a gathering of senior Islamic State commanders on the outskirts of the Syrian city of Raqqa.
But armed groups fighting in the region and U.S. officials say they have no evidence that Baghdadi was killed, and many regional officials have said they are skeptical about the information from Moscow. Committee head Viktor Ozerov was quoted as saying the defense ministry would not have released information about Baghdadi's death if it believed it could be later proved incorrect.
"I think this information is close to 100 percent," Interfax quoted Ozerov. "The fact that Islamic State has still not shown him anywhere also adds to our confidence that al-Baghdadi has been killed."
