ISLAMABAD – The Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, whom US President DonaldTrump claimed had been killed, was in fact a US or an Israeli agent, saysan American scholar.
Trump announced Baghdadi’s death in a military raid by US forces innorthwest Syria in an address on Sunday morning.[image: PressTV-The timing of Baghdadi’s death]link
Trump’s announcement and the photos that followed the announcement were afarce, according to Kevin Barrett, an author, journalist and radio hostwith a Ph.D in Islamic and Arabic Studies.
“Trump’s announcement of Baghdadi’s killing was full of hilarious lines,”Barrett told Press TV in an interview on Monday, describing theannouncement as a “comedy” that made people “helplessly laugh’, meant toentertain the Americans and give them a sense of gratification.
The truth is that Baghdadi ”is in fact a US or Israeli agent,” Barrettnoted, adding,“some reports claim that there is a specific Israeliindividual who has played this role.”[image: PressTV-Who created Daesh?]link
Meantime, Trump said on Monday that he was considering releasing selectedsections of the video showing the US military raid that led to the death ofBaghdadi over the weekend.
“We’re thinking about it. We may,” Trump told reporters when he was askedabout the prospect of releasing the footage of the raid.
“We may take certain parts of it and release it, yes,” he said.[image: PressTV-UN says can’t verify US claim on Daesh leader’s death]linkPressTV-UN says can’t verify US claim on Daesh leader’slink
Trump said he watched much of the raid in the Situation Room, likening itto “watching a movie.”
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Trump described Baghdadi’s last moments as such, “whimpering and crying andscreaming all the way.”
Barrett likened the announcements regarding Baghdadi’s death to theannouncement of killing of former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
As with bin Laden, Baghdadi’s remains were allegedly dumped into the sea.
Barrett said both the staged killings were fake.
“The people staging these fake events don’t even seem to have the slightestinterest in making them at all plausible,” Barrett concluded.
United Nations spokesman for the UN Secretary General, Farhan Haq, said ina press briefing on Monday that the international body had “taken note ofthe announcement by the President of the United States on the death of AbuBakr al‑Baghdadi, the leader of the UN‑designated terrorist group Daesh.”
However, he said the UN “cannot personally verify the accuracy of this.”
