MOSCOW (Reuters) - Moscow said on Sunday it did not have "credible information" on the killing of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, citing "contradictory details" raising "doubts about the reality of the US operation and its success."
The Defense Department said it had "no credible information about US military activities in the de-escalation zone in Idlib."
In recent days, there has been no air strike by the United States and the international coalition in the area of de-escalation in Idlib, spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.
He pointed to "completely contradictory details" by "direct participants and countries allegedly involved in the process," adding that this raises legitimate questions and doubts about the reality and success of the US operation.
US President Donald Trump announced earlier that Baghdadi was killed in a US military operation in northwestern Syria.
Konashenkov pointed to previous times in which he announced the killing of al-Baghdadi, without a "practical indication of the situation in Syria or the activity of the remaining terrorists in Idlib."
Russia itself had suggested Baghdadi was killed on June 16, 2017 in an air strike in May near the Syrian city of Raqqa.