Russia confirms U.S. operation in Syria

The Kremlin confirmed on Monday that the Russian military had observed U.S. aircraft in the area where the U.S. claims to have killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The confirmation, made by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, contradicted a Russian Defence Ministry statement from the previous day that said no U.S. aircraft had been observed.

“Our servicemen indeed saw U.S. planes in the area, drones in the area, that might have been working there,” Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said in comments carried by Russian news agency Interfax.

If the killing is true, it amounts to a “serious contribution by the U.S. president in the fight against international terrorism,” Peskov said.