>> many knew, or know, until this is confirmed, al baghdadi as the invisible sheikh, again, pointing to the point that he has been invisible. very -- in stark contrast to al zarqawi, who was killed in 2006 by a u.s. bombing. if there's success from al baghdadi, it was in recruiting thousands of young jihadis. any answer to why he was so successful recruiting to the world's most despicable terror organization? >> reporter: i think he was benefited by the age in which he lived, the era of social media, an incredibly powerful media machine that he generated within isis, and that has been the tool that has made isis stand apart from other terrorist groups in modern times, in comparison to al qaeda. it has managed to recruit through these incredibly powerful recruitment videos and bring in foreign fighters from across the middle east and across the west also, and that is something that al baghdadi clearly understood extremely well, how to make isis not just an incredibly brutal organization in terms of its capabilities on the ground, its capabilities in capturing territory in iraq and syri

officials tell us at cnn that they cannot confirm the death of al baghdadi.ue a word of warning with anything ever coming out of russian state media, the same actors that attempted to interfere in the united states elections and the french elections, that injected fake news that may have started the qatar blockade, but if this is, indeed, true, diana, how significant would it be for the war on terror? how brutal has his reign been atop isis? >> well, symbolically, it will matter, but in practical terms, isis is, you know, in its last legs in terms of what it was, a terrorist group that had a huge amount of territory through iraq and syria. that has absolutely been crushed by the coalition and iraqi ground forces and various different syrian forces, crushing isis both in iraq and syria. and also there has been various isis leaders killed in the last few months. so really, the organization has unraveled and is very much on the back foot. so al baghdadi's death, yes, will matter symbolically and it is very, very unclear who might assume the leadership, whether t

we have not found al-baghdadi. but we have found just about everybody else that falls underneath him, all of his lieutenants. when we have these opportunities and we can strike them safely, we will and we have done so many times. >> do you think you will be able to verify this information any time soon? >> i don't know. and just like right now, we have seen this before, as you have already been reported. this has been a battle drill where many times these claims have been brought up. but before the united states, before the coalition comes forward with any kind of confirmation, we want to be 100% accurate and correct. >> so while i have you there is word that 4,000 more troops will be deployed to afghanistan. general mattis has said we're not winning there right now. it put us at about 12,000 troops on the ground. what should the american people know about how it's going where you are? >> well, i think it is fair to say that isis losses are undeniable and irreversible. in the course of the last two and a half years

he was a soccer player. >> narrator: abu bakr al-baghdadi's journey from religious scholar to jihadist leader started back in the early days of the american occupation. as the u.s. army conducted mass sweeps of the sunni population, baghdadi was put into an american prison. >> for a number of people who had spent time in these jails, they spoke about them as jihadi training camps. so through being in jail together, people created new networks. >> narrator: they were known as "jihadi universities." baghdadi learned zarqawi's methods. >> he is able to network with other committed jihadists, capable jihadists that were attached to major organizations like al-qaeda in iraq, and he begins to network with these men, many of whom he would rise with through the ranks of al-qaeda in iraq, later the islamic state. >> narrator: after his release, baghdadi moved up inside zarqawi's organization. >> he very wisely played up the idea that his tribe had direct links to the prophet mohammed. and this was very important for establishing his legitimacy as a leader. >> narrator: in audio recordings, bagh

but al-baghdadi several months ago is reported west of mosul near the city of baa. days ago, syrian media reported him dead. >> many times these claims have been brought up. baghdady is someone who is extremely careful about his personal security. and u.s. officials say right now they are doubtful he would be at a meeting of 300 people. wolf? >> barbara, you're also following breaking news on a u.s. navy destroyer involved in a collision. tell our viewers the latest information. >> wolf, i think we have fresh video to show everyone. this is a very concerning situation at this hour. this is out in japan where it is early morning and the u.s. navy destroyer fitzgerald, couple of hours ago, collided with apparently a merchant vessel. about 60 miles off the coast of the japan. you can see the damage to the navy ship. they are pumping that water. the ship is listing. apparent lit hull has been breeched, we are told. the ship is taking on water. the navy said it is not in danger of sinking at this hour but they are still trying to stabilize the ship. they are trying to ens

>> they were abualmasri and another individual named al-baghdadi, umar. ime, baghdadie was the number 4 or 5 in the organization. he was able to take on the ranks and have it, the opportunity to bring isis. >> sean: what happened when you were ready to capture him? >> the rules of warfare had changed. when they pinpointed him to a house on the ground, u.s. troops had been told to get out of iraq, to leave. typically a raid that would have occurred that same night by an assault force, team of special forces guys going in to extract the target, they had to wait two weeks for the call to be made to allow these guys to go n by that time he was gone. baghdadi doesn't stay anywhere for two weeks. because of the new rules of engagement that had taken place where u.s. troops were told to leave. >> sean: as a result of the rules of engagement, now this madman, you know, cold-hearted brutal killer is on the loose. we could have taken him out. is that a fact you see what isis has done today. this time we were going after these guys before anyone necessarily cared abo

if al-baghdadi was killed it would be a major takedown.s mentioned he is considered the world's most wanted man with a 25 million-dollar u.s. bounty bounty on his head. pentagon officials are skeptical of russia's claims. baghdadi remains elusive, never stays in one place and unlikely he would be at a meeting of commanders and fighters. if al-baghdadi was killed in recent weeks it, may not necessarily have that serious impact on isis's over all operations certainly in light of the recent terror attacks in the uk, tehran and baghdad, of course the ongoing fighting in iraq and syria. while it is unclear if al-baghdadi is alive or dead, what is clear is that the russian airstrike was a heavy one, taking out according to russian officials as many as 30 midlevel isis commanders and probably perhaps upwards of 350 isis fighters. also russian officials say that the u.s. was made aware of the attack. back to you. melissa: john, thank you. >>> here now is peter brookes from the heritage foundation. he is also a former deputy assistant secretary of

vladimir putin take him out. >> you know, i will send vladimir putin flowers if he kills abu bakr al-baghdadibout this. trish: what makes you doubt it? >> the russians are claiming that they not only killed baghdadi, senior leaders, 300 body guards, that's not the way al-baghdadi operates. he hasn't been seen since he declared the caliphate and for them to create a target with all their leadership in one place, that's very hard to believe. now, the other problem as far as i can tell, the united states intel communitha't picd up anything. usually the russians have this happen in may 28, usually we catch chatter, you hear people chatting about it and we've had nothing. so -- trish: why would they make this up? >> the russians can be doing it for several reasons. the primary is they have not been fighting isis. they have been fighting our guys and fighting our antiassad freedom fighters and they might be trying to show -- they're more in the fight against isis than the americans. there's a real drama playing out in quiet area in southern syria where the iranians are trying to prevent our allies

among the few pictures of al baghdadi before he emerged as the leader of isis in around 2010 after splitting from al qaeda. he was officially designated as a terrorist in 2011. the u.s. now offering $25 million for information leading to his capture. al baghdadi born in iraq was born in a u.s. prisoner camp until 2009. in the years that followed his lead he built the form that came isis and his death would be a huge blow to that group and inevitably a boost to russia's ambitions in the middle east. back to you. >> all right. there are deals, and then there's this, a blockbuster one for one of the world's most valuable grocery chains. amazon is buying whole foods for almost $14 billion. that's amazon's biggest acquisition ever. it also means that you can now add grocery store chain to amazon's long line of products. whole foods which made its names selling expensive organic products has been struggling after fiercer competition has emerged from stores like safeway, trader joe's and cost co-. one whole food shop o shopper believes they believe the sale is a good thing. >> i hope i can get it e

at the time when i was doing this, al baghdadi was maybe 45 in the organization.e popped up on our radar we just saw how, um, close this guy was to the top and how very quickly he rose through the ranks. so when we hunted baghdadi we actually used him originally to kill the original two leaders of the islamic state which allowed him to fill this leadership game. >> and they would be? >> say that again. >> the two leader use got are. >> they w were abu almazari, and another individual named baghdadi at the time. at the time, you know, again, baghdadi was the number four or five in the organization haveg the opportunity. >> what happened when you identified, located, him, and were ready to take him out or capture him, what happened? >> the rules of warfare had changed. when the teamsap located baghdai and pinpointed him to a house on the ground by that time u.s. troops had been told to get out of iraq, they had been told to leave. typically a raid that would have occurred that same night by an assault force, a team of special forces going in there to extract a targe

abu bakr al-baghdadi.investigative reporter and author michael weiss. >> i take this accidentcally principally because he would not be in raqqa at this time and senior leadership would not have this high level meeting when the so-called caliphate is crumbling and raqqa is crumbling. >> rose: and we conclude with oliver stone, his documentary called "the putin interviews" premiered on showtime monday night. >> what does a direct

abu bakr al baghdadi has been claimed to have been killed in the past. that information hasn't panned out. it's difficult to verify this kind of information. some experts suggested he may have not have been in raqqah at this time. raqqah is in the midst of assault, u.s.-led forces, kurdish force, syrian fighters so it would not be the most practical place for him to be. where else he could escape to nobody knows but this is information we should take with a grain of salt. this is coming from the russian military. they informed the united states about this strike. no confirmation at this stage from any u.s. officials about whether this information is accurate. >> thank you. >>> there's new development in special counsel robert mueller's investigation into alleged ties between the trump campaign and russians. "the washington post" reports mueller is now looking into the finances and business dealings of president trump's son-in-law jared kushner. the fbi reportedly been examining the finances of former campaign chairman and carter page. nbc's white house c

russia says al-baghdadi was killed in an air raid on may 28.his is not the first time al-baghdadi's death has been reported. all previous death claims were proven to be false. >> meanwhile back here at home it was a packed house at nats stadium. nearly 20,000 people showed up for the annual congressional baseball game last night. the game this year taking on special meeting in the wake of the ambush at the republican practice in alexandria. on the field just before the game began the lawmakers knelt in a prayer circle. many of them wore hats representing louisiana state university in honor of injured congressman steve scalise and his home state. the stadium erupted when injured capitol police special agent david bailey came out on crutches to throw out the first pitch. >> this morning congressman steve scalise continues his long road to recovery after being shot during that baseball practice early wednesday morning. investigating weapons purchased by the gunman and trying to piece together a motive. fox5's melanie alnwick live from alexandria w

al-baghdadi's whereabouts has always been secret.e fbi has recovered both guns used by the shooter, 66-year-old james hodgkinson. both a handgun and a rifle were found at the scene. investigators say they were purchased lawfully. they also say hodgkinson's had a valid license to carry. he was killed in a shootout with capitol police after injuring five people including congressman steve scalise. meanwhile, congressman scalise remains in critical condition. he had another surgery last night. he'll need more in the future. washington says that bullets damaged many bones and internal organs. tyson's food lobbyist matt mika is listed in serious condition. that's a upgrade. he had been in critical. officer crystal griner is in good condition. four people were hit by gunfire. wisdom, over to you. >> all right, time now for the morning any other -- morning line. easy for me to say. it was a night filled with a lot of emotions at nats park. the charity baseball game between the didn't republican lawmakers. thousands in the crowd on their fee

>> i pledge my allegiance to abu bakr al baghdadi on behalf of the islamic state. >> she asked him to repeat what he was saying. >> what's your name? >> i pledge my allegiance to abu bakr al baghdadi on behalf of the islamic state. >> the dispatcher said, you need to hear this call. >> reporter: sergeant andy brennan, trained hostage negotiator, was working an off-duty detail at a bar downtown that night. when he responded to the signal 43 call at pulse. and headed to the dispatch center. >> so i went and sure enough, five minutes later, this shooter calls in. >> where are you at? >> in orlando. >> where in orlando? >> reporter: the shooter hung up, as he would again and again that night. >> chilling. i said, let's call. so we made our first call. immediately. from that dispatcher's station. >> hello there. hi, there. this is orlando police, who am i speaking with, please? >> you're speaking with the person who pledges allegiance to the islamic state of abu bakr al baghdadi -- >> we wanted to confirm we had in fact the person that was inside. you can start to hear the serious tone in

they say isis leader abu bakr al baghdadi attended the meeting and was killed in the air strike. tion from the americans and a spokesman from the u.s. coalition said the u.s. could not confirm whether baghdadi had been killed. there have been several reports of his death in the past including last weekend when syrian state television announced baghdadi's death by a u.s.-led strike. keep in mind he was only publicly seen once, that was back in june 2014 in mosul when his fighters captured the city. his whereabouts have been unknown for quite some time. there's some reports that suggest he's been hiding in thousands of square miles of desert rather than living in mosul and raqqa where american troops and u.s.-backed forces are fighting. it's not something we can confirm at this stage. >> unlike previous leaders, he keeps a low row file and that makes it harder. that would be much more significant if it is confirmed. we'll have more on this story as it develops. >> up next on "morning joe," more on the latest developments in the on going probe in the president's possible ties to russ

the mosque is where abu bakr al—baghdadi made his only publicouncing a new caliphate three years ago. the us military described it as a crime against the people of mosul and of all iraq. it has denied an allegation by the jihadists that an american air strike was to blame. frankie mccamley reports. an image of the past: the grand al—nuri mosque in mosul, which had stood for over eight centuries with its famous leaning minaret. from above, drone footage shows its now flattened. one of the old city's most famous historical sites, a shadow of its former self. us—led coalition forces claim so—called islamic state is responsible: however, is claims us aircraft destroyed the mosque. but, no matter who is telling the truth, this is a hugely symbolic moment. the mosque is where back in 2014 isis leader abu bakr al—baghdadi made his only public appearance shortly after declaring a caliphate. it comes as this exclusive footage filmed by the bbc shows coalition troops within metres of the site. a few hours ago i was there in the evening with counterterrori

now, believing al baghdadi may have been at that meeting. >> abu bakr al baghdadi is dead. >> reporterthere's been previous reports of his death. and his whereabouts have not been known for some time. this, the picture of him, before he emerged as the leader of isis. he was designated as a terrorist in 2011. the u.s. offering $25 million for information leading to his capture. but isis has lost considerable territory, after increasing pressure from air strikes by the u.s. and its allies. secretary of state saying in march -- >> all of abu bakr aill baghdads deputies are dead. >> reporter: if it's true, it would be a major achievement for russia in the ongoing effort to defeat isis. al baghdadi was detained at a u.s. prison camp in 2009. he built the fighting force that became known as isis. his death would be a blow to that group. and inevitably, boost russia's ambitions in the middle east. >> thank you very much. >>> let's get more from aman. i guess the first question is, is there any reason to be skeptical about whether or not this is true. russia says itself says we're not sure. >>

welcome back experts have been speculating over who could replace my sil leader abu bakar al baghdadi if his death is confirmed it follows reports of his possible elimination by russian as strike votes on like al baghdadi who had a religious background the two main contenders to replace him have a very different history. by the end i add algy widely both served as security officers under saddam hussein and following the u.s. led invasion of iraq in two thousand and three they both joined the sun the insurgency part of which later transformed into islamic state. well let's discuss this issue further with nicholas davis got on our hands the american invasion and destruction of iraq thank you very much indeed for joining us this evening well the speculation over isolator abu bakar al baghdadi is replacement as we just heard if his death from a russian as strike is confirmed was related contenders off or operatives of saddam hussein i mean what do you think about that. while i think in the big picture it's not really going to make much difference who replaces baghdadi . essentially where

it is so memorable that back in 2014 the islamic state group leader abu bakr al—baghdadi gave a speechy mosque. why would they destroy it? it is the same reason. it is very simple for them. they know, from the media and unofficial media, the iraqi army want this, to destroy the iraqi army want this, to destroy the idea of the caliphate which announced from the mosque. this is very important for them. if they stormed the mosque and they finished the placed where abu bakr al—baghdadi appears in front of the people publicly, it means that the caliphate will be finished and the idea of the caliphate will be destroyed completely. then they will lose mosul and finish isis's assistance in any big city in iraq. let's have a look at some of the other news for you. the conservative government in britain has outlined plans to parliament. after losing the majority in the election, the government put forward no controversial pledges. eight of the 27 bills in the speech read out by queen elisabeth concern the withdrawal from the eu. queen elisabeth concern the withdrawalfrom the eu. there queen elis

the mosque is where back in 2014 isis leader abu bakr al—baghdadi made his only public appearance shortly a caliphate. it comes as this exclusive footage filmed by the bbc shows coalition troops within metres of the site. a few hours ago i was there in the evening with counterterrorism forces in iraq, which is the closest we've gone today. just 150 metres away from the mosque, and two hours after we left the place, we heard this bad news that is destroyed the mosque, or blew it up. attacking the city from all directions, iraqi commanders say they are in the final chapter of the offensive, but with thousands still trapped in the city and more sacred sites destroyed, it's clear the battle for parts of mosul is far from over and nothing is safe. craig whiteside teaches national security affairs at the us naval postgraduate school. he was previously a us army colonel in iraq, and he researches and writes on the ideology of the islamic state group. i asked him whether he believed the iraqi government's statement that the mosque was destroyed by is. i do for now. without definitive proof it wou

it's where there is leader abu bakr al—baghdadi gave a speech three years ago proclaiming a new "caliphate bring you more as we find out. today the british government set out its programme of legislation in the formal ceremony of the queen's speech. of course, given the circumstances — theresa may still doesn't have a working majority — it was always going to be subdued. gone are the uk prime minister's ambitions for big changes at home. in fact this may be a queen's speech that will be remembered for what's missing rather than what's being proposed. here's our political editor laura kuenssberg. nothing normal this time. a sense of occasion but a political year like no other. the bus and for now, she still has the prime ministerialjaguar. your first and last queen's speech, prime minister? the music and the marching still happened. yet, with the election held in a hurry, no time for the queen's horses to practice. so the royal bentley had to do. the queen arriving for the 64th time. her son, not her husband alongside her. get your skates on. first race is 2.30 pm! after all, with royal asc

do you know where abu bakr al—baghdadi is?aghdadi is? laughter man, i was hoping you knew! if you know, please tell me and we will kill him forthright. everyone claims to kill him at least once a month. we have someone claiming to kill abu bakr al—baghdadi. the latest one was made by the russians. i wish them well. i hope that they did. i will be happy to hear that they did. i suspect they didn't. for now russia and the us share a common enemy. 0nce they didn't. for now russia and the us share a common enemy. once the islamic state is gone, two the powers will be left backing different sides in an unfinished war. the potential for confrontation is real. stay with some bbc news. far to come, including this. just days before the tour to france, we take a spin through the history of the b i cycle. china marked its first day of rule in hong kong, with a series of spectacular celebrations. a huge firework display was held in the former colony. the chinese president, jiang zemin, said unification was the start of a new era for hong

the socialed press reporting russia is claiming that it killed abu al baghdadi in syria.

eisel fighters thirty of the groups commanders but also the terrorist organizations leader avatar al baghdadi not course rocket the capital city of islamic state self-proclaimed caliph it well has been surrounded by u.s. led coalition forces for quite some time now and according to the russian military well they've received intelligence indicating of a big get together between eisel leaders and commanders to. discuss a possible escape routes or skate plans to flee the city when necessary so after confirming the location of this big get together and informing the u.s. forces operating there were russia has conducted these airstrikes in hopes to wipe out the top leadership off islamic state. silliman nation when you know one of. those in your now bear in mind of whether or not al but that he has been killed this has not yet been confirmed by the us government nor the syrian government have come out to comment on this and it will take some time for the authorities to investigate this but if it is confirmed what al baghdadi stuff will certainly serve as a huge blow to the terrorist group as he's

they claim that an air strike killed abu bakr al baghdadi in syria.t time it's been reported that he's been killed or is on the brink of death. these are all headlines that talk about whether he's been killed. for more on what is going on here, and the continued fight against isis and terrorism, i'm joined by "the new york times'" reporter who has helped me before on these things. two things. first of all, abu bakr al baghdadi is probably the world's most-wanted terrorist, the head of isis, many different groups have pledged allegiance to him. we don't see him much. we're seeing video of him here. he doesn't speak much. we don't really generally know where he is. is he that important? >> first of all, let's say the pentagon is not confirming -- >> correct. >> they're urging caution. that's important to get out there. >> we don't know if he's dead or not. >> we don't know, he most likely is not dead because the pentagon would know by this stage. he has enormous symbolic significance to the islamic state, a generation of young men who joined the group h

the question over whether or not the leader of isis, abu bakr al baghdadi, is dead or not.a live report on that, ahead. if you have moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis like me, and you're talking to your rheumatologist about a medication... ...this is humira. this is humira helping to relieve my pain... ...and protect my joints from further damage. humira has been clinically studied for over 18 years. humira works by targeting and helping to... ...block a specific source... ...of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. it's proven to help relieve pain and... ...stop further joint damage in many adults. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas... ...where certain fungal infections are common and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have f

al baghdadi rose to become the leader of al qaeda's offshoot in iraq later splitting with al qaeda'sdership which has criticized isis for its brutality. jeff? >> holly williams in istanbul, thank you. >>> the pentagon is making plans to send thousands more troops to afghanistan. most of them will be trainers or advisors. our david martin at the pentagon reports that three to 5,000 additional troops are expected to be deployed there in afghanistan. 8400 american forces are already there. the reinforcements would bring the total u.s. presence to at least 11,400. >> in the past hour president trump on twitter lashed out at the russian investigation. the president tweeted, quote, i am being investigated for firing the fbi director by the man who told me to fire the fbi director. witch hunt. major garret is at the white house. major, good morning. >> good morning. this tweet is genuine news. the white house had confirmed that the president talked to robert mueller as part of a conversation about possibly being the interim fbi director. now we know, according to this tweet, that mueller ad

officials say "abu bakr al-baghdadi" was killed in an airstrike late last month along with other senior group commanders. they say the may 28th air raid targeted an isis meeting being held in raqqa. u-s officials say breaking news in the war on terror breaking news in the war on terror the russian military claims it has killed the leader of the islamic state group. officials say "abu bakr al-baghdadi" was killed in an airstrike late last month along with other senior group commanders. they say the may 28th air raid targeted an isis meeting being held in raqqa. u-s officials say they cannot confirm the report. we'll continue to follow this and update you as we a powerful message of country, coming a powerful message of country, coming a powerful message of country, coming before politics. lawmakers playing ball last night - despite that shooting at a g-o-p practice. before the game both parties kneeling to pray for those injured - among them, congressman steve scalise. and in the stands - a roaring tribute to the player not on the field.. you can see the "team scalise" signs in the crowd

rusia, el ministro de defensa este edificio atrÁs, investiga informes que indican que abu bakr al-baghdadis de este paÍs a fines del mes pasado donde murieron tambiÉn cientos de militante de isis estados unidos intenta verificar la eliminaciÓn de abu bakr al-baghdadi en el pasado ha habido numerosos reportes sobre la muerte del mÁximo lÍder del grupo terrorista que terminaron siendo falsos. >> mÁs de 40 pandilleros en su mayorÍa miembros de mara salvatrucha han sido capturados en un intenso operativo que emprendiÓ el gobierno del presidente donald j.trump, aunque para las familias destrozadas por la violencia de estos grupos no hay consuelo como muestra rebeca. >> ya habÍa pasado algo asi en mi vida. >> adriÁn perdiÓ a su hijastro se presume a manos de la pandilla m 13 a mÁs de 3 meses. >> la sufrÍ a ella como... (lloran) (lloran) estaba en este sitio me da una presencia tan dura... tu sabes... que.... >> no es fÁcil. >> (hablan inglÉs) (hablan inglÉs) por eso, abraham dice apoyar la guerra que el presidente donald j.trump le declarÓ a los pandilleros integrantes de mara salvatrucha dÍas d

russia announcing it may have killed abu bakr al-baghdadi, the leader of isis.mation that al-baghdadi was present at a meeting of top isis commanders in raqqa last month. if officially verified, will this impact the onslaught of recent attacks across the globe of isis? i will start with you. i think this is big news. i think demoralizing to isis. do you think differently? >> first of all, it's not been confirmed. >> you might not have been in >> this might be a victory of our coalition forces, but you have to think about isis as a monster. if you cut off its head, it could grow in its place. i went to a pentagon leaving last month when they said it might not be the final battle. if these anti-isis forces take back raqqa, they go find another territory to claim. you have to think about leadership in the same way. even if their leader is killed, another leader will come in its place. >> eric: cell, kat, you and i may not agree with as. we just do not need to be fighting a war, this might not be one of them. what about the americans that killed al-baghdadi allegedl

military officials say they are unable to confirm whether or not al-baghdadi is in fact dead. russia says the strike took place last month in syria. targeted a command post where isis leaders are meeting. want to bring in ward for the details. what are you learning? >> we should approach this report with a healthy dose of skepticism. they are still investigating the possibility that al-baghdadi may have been killed in this strike in question. the strike took place may 28th in the evening. as you said targeted an isis command post where a military council meeting was reportedly taking place. they're saying that 300 isis soldiers were present at the meeting. that in addition to that 30 mid level field commanders were present at the meeting. i mention those points only because they raise real red flags because isis is adept and has learned a lot from the changes in the battlefield in the past few years from the threat of drones, threat of air strikes. they tend not to travel in large numbers. so it will be very much inconceivable to think that al-baghdadi, the leader of isis, wou

i want to talk about what isis away look like or the islamic would look like without abu bakr-al-baghdadige. he's 46 years old. where would it go next and how cablely would it be able to continue on with what it has been doing now? >> if anything, we've learned in last almost 15 years about this organization, it has evolved, it has met more, it's incredibly resilient. he would be, in effect. depends on what you're talking to. either the fourth or the third man in charge. i would be very surprised if they haven't got somebody next in line or a series of candidates those next in line. i'm less interested in who heads the organization than i am at the sort of rank and file that are now filling it out and it's the trend that i've noticed in last seen months, two years, i call it the europeanation of isis. you got a lot of people from russia speaking territories, republics coming in and because they've served in the military of their native country and they're pretty bad ass if you ask american soldiers who have seen them in action, they're the ones we have to be more worried about. isis is ch

first of all in the past there have been reports that head of isis, al baghdadi, had been killed and it turned out not to be true. what are you hearing today? >> yeah, that's right. and the russian foreign ministry now saying it is not 100% confirmed. russia's defense ministry saying this morning that abu bakr al baghdadi may, may, have been, quote, liquidated in a strike carried out almost three weeks ago. now, his location has been hard to establish and so far u.s. officials are not confirming the russian claim and it's important to note there have been numerous reports as you say, stephanie, of al baghdadi's death over the years. he is one of the world's most wanted terrorist. the u.s. has a $25 million reward for information leading to him. a man who built isis into a force controlling large parts of iraq and syria and launching multiple terror attacks. what russians are saying this morning is that they believe that their strike in syria killed 330 isis fighters on may 28th and they are still checking whether as they are suggesting the isis leader was among them. >> well, if al b

abu bakr al-baghdadi may have been killed. ofre have been other reports abu bakr al-baghdadi's death. of germanycellor died at age 87. we look back at his life and legacy. the increased threat of terrorism prompted australia to announce gun amnesty in an effort to curb illegal weapons. an correspondent has announcement. the threat of a gun crime has come to feel very real in recent weeks. earlier this week, a man with a shotgunf barricaded himself, the attacker was a shot dead, but not before he killed another man. of a siegememories which also involved a man armed with an illegal weapon. both described by authorities as terror. true terrorying attacks in australia, illegal guns have been used. following a massacre in 1996, australia imposed a bout -- a band on automatic and semiautomatic weapons along with strict licensing. and an effort to buy back guns. this time there will not be a cash incentive. intelligence reports suggesting ine than one million weapons circulation, the aim is to stop them of reaching the wrong hands.

for years al baghdadi was one of the most wanted men. a $25 million reward from the u.s. for information leading to his capture. the last public video of baghdadi was from a mosque in mosul in 2014. >> he has been on the run quite a bit since thenment russia this morning says it has killed the leader of isis, of course, we'll continue to stay on breaking story and bring you the very latest if and when we get confirmation. >>> now to something rare in the nation's capital. true bipartisanship on display at last night's congressional baseball game. there were ball, strike, runs, of course, scored. in the end the democrats defeating the republicans. >> not as important as the unity they showed on the field following wednesday's attack at a republican practice and stephanie ramos reports. >> reporter: the annual congressional baseball game in washington pitting democrats against republicans hit a home run last night. the first pitch thrown by capitol police officer david bailey. he was hit by gunfire wednesday morning when 66-year-old james hodgkinson started shooting at repub

in a statement the russian defense ministry said, quote, isis leader abu bakr al baghdadi also attended the meeting and was killed in this air strikes. the ministry adds that it had warned the u.s. of the strike in advance. there's been no confirmation from the americans. a spokesman for the u.s. dough ligs fighting isis could not confirm whether baghdadi had been killed. there were numerous reports of his death including last weekend when syrian state television announced he was killed by an american strike. he was only seen publicly once, back in june 2014 in mosul when his fighters captured the city. this would be a significant blow to the group if the info proves to be true. it's not something we can confirm at this stage, frances. >> lucy kafanov, thank you. >>> the pentagon is sending more troops to afghanistan, putting another 4,000 americans in harm's way. that would push the total number of u.s. service members there to around 12,000. this will be the largest deployment under president trump so far. an administration officials says these additional troops are being sent in in o

but unlike al baghdadi who had a religious background the two main contenders to replace him have a very different history. baby and i add maybe both served to security officials under saddam hussein and following the u.s. led invasion of iraq in two thousand and three they both joined the sunni insurgency part of which later transformed into a islamic state military analyst thanks thinks a disaster could be avoided if the u.s. led coalition didn't destroy iraq institutions when they're on the of saddam was disbanded a lot of the baath is for disgruntled to join the sunni insurgency against u.s. forces and also against iranian backed militias a lot of them are no ideological supporters of isis and radical islam but this feeling grief that the iraqi government have to us is very heavy handed again to sunni arabs trying certainly united states and united kingdom ignoring all the advice given to them about dismantling the iraqi state specially the rocking the train security forces because one thing getting this destroyed you are the state system that. led to this disaster. you know the news

meanwhile experts have been speculating over who could replace isolator i'll be back al baghdadi if his death is confirmed that follows reports of his possible elimination by russian and strike but unlike al baghdadi who had a religious background the two main contenders to replace him have a very different backstory. a baby and a many both served a security officials under saddam hussein and following the u.s. led invasion of iraq in two thousand and three they both joined the sunni insurgency part of which later transformed into a islamic state military analyst kemal thinks a disaster could be avoided if the u.s. led coalition didn't destroy iraq institutions when they're on the of saddam was disbanded a lot of the baath is for described so to join the sunni insurgency has used force . and also against iranian backed militias a lot of them are not ideological supporters of isis some radical islam but the feeling aggrieved by the iraqi government saying that the u.s. was very heavy handed again to sin they are trying certainly united states and united kingdom ignored all the advice giv

the ministry says that abu bakr al-baghdadi and about 30 other top isis militants died in the strike.cials are working to confirm it. we'll continue to keep you updated on this developing story. >>> london police say the number of victims has increased to 30 in the fire that engulfed a high-rise building nearly 70 people still unaccounted for. the london fire commissioner says there is no indication that the fire was set intentionally. he cause is under investigation. an australian man was one of the first people at the scene and alerted residents of what was going on. >> so then i went outside the building and was just shouting at the residents in the building and slowly lights were switching on for people waking upcoming to their windows. and i was screaming at them, get out of the building! get out of the building! the whole thing is going to go up! >> the royal family visited the victims of the fire this morning. the queen and prince william stopped by a relief center in london. they met with volunteers and residents. >>> now to politics. vice president mike pence joined president

the mosque is where that in 2014 isis leader abu bakkar al—baghdadi made his only appearance shortlylaring a caliphate. it comes after this exclusive fitted shop by the bbc shows coalition troops within metres of the site. a few hours ago i was there with counterterrorism forces in iraq, which is the closest we've gone today. just 150 metres away from the mosque, and two hours after we left the place, we heard this bad news that is destroyed the mosque, 01’ news that is destroyed the mosque, or blew it up. attacking the city from all directions, iraqi commanders say they are in the final chapter of the offensive, but with thousands still trapped in the city and more sacred sites destroyed, the battle for parts of mothers all is farfrom over and battle for parts of mothers all is far from over and nothing battle for parts of mothers all is farfrom over and nothing is over —— for parts of mosul. president trump has taken to the stage at a rally in iowa. there he is, standing with the many hundreds who have gathered to its press their support. pretty jubilant after winning back key cong