Islamic State leader's son killed in Syria fighting
Hudhayfah al Badri, the child of Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, dies during an attack on Syrian and Russian forces, the group says.
Wednesday 4 July 2018 09:04, UK
The son of Islamic State's leader has been killed in fighting, according to the terror group.
Hudhayfah al Badri, son of IS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, was killed during an attack by the jihadists in the central Syrian province of Homs, IS-affiliated Amaq news agency said.
Badri was killed during an "operation against the Nussayriyyah and the Russians at the thermal power station in Homs," it added.
Nussayriyyah is the term used by IS for the Alawite sect of which Syrian president Bashar al Assad is a member.
Released with the statement was an image of a young boy carrying an assault rifle.
Baghdadi's location is unknown, but analysts have inferred from the statement that he is still alive.
His group has been on the run after being driven out of northern Syria and Iraq by a US-backed coalition and coming under pressure in the rest of Syria from forces loyal to Mr Assad.
Bagdadi has not released any messages since September when he urged followers to wage attacks against the West.