Observatory director Rami Abdulrahman said the ISIS commander was badly wounded but not killed and had been moved to Raqqa. (Representational Image)
Beirut, Lebanon:
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Thursday that ISIS's military commander was badly wounded but still alive, appearing to contradict US officials who said he was likely killed in a US air strike.
The US officials said on Tuesday that Abu Omar al-Shishani, also known as Omar the Chechen and described by the Pentagon as the group's "minister of war", was targeted near the town of al-Shadadi in Syria.
Observatory director Rami Abdulrahman said he had been badly wounded but not killed and had been moved to ISIS's base of operations in Raqqa for treatment.
"He did not die," Abdulrahman said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says it gathers its information from all sides in the conflict. Reuters had no way to independently verify the report.
Born in 1986 in Georgia, which was then still part of the Soviet Union, the red-bearded Shishani had a reputation as a close military adviser to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was said by followers to have relied heavily on Shishani.
The strike itself involved multiple waves of manned and unmanned aircraft, targeting Shishani near al-Shadadi in Syria, a US official said.
The Pentagon believes Shishani was sent there to bolster ISIS troops after they suffered a series of setbacks at the hands of US-allied Arab and Kurdish forces on the ground.
An official in the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which has been fighting ISIS in the al-Shadadi area, said on Tuesday it had received information that Shishani was killed but had no details and had been unable to confirm the death.
The official declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.
The US officials said on Tuesday that Abu Omar al-Shishani, also known as Omar the Chechen and described by the Pentagon as the group's "minister of war", was targeted near the town of al-Shadadi in Syria.
Observatory director Rami Abdulrahman said he had been badly wounded but not killed and had been moved to ISIS's base of operations in Raqqa for treatment.
"He did not die," Abdulrahman said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says it gathers its information from all sides in the conflict. Reuters had no way to independently verify the report.
Born in 1986 in Georgia, which was then still part of the Soviet Union, the red-bearded Shishani had a reputation as a close military adviser to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was said by followers to have relied heavily on Shishani.
The strike itself involved multiple waves of manned and unmanned aircraft, targeting Shishani near al-Shadadi in Syria, a US official said.
The Pentagon believes Shishani was sent there to bolster ISIS troops after they suffered a series of setbacks at the hands of US-allied Arab and Kurdish forces on the ground.
An official in the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which has been fighting ISIS in the al-Shadadi area, said on Tuesday it had received information that Shishani was killed but had no details and had been unable to confirm the death.
The official declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.
© Thomson Reuters 2016
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