DISINFO: ISIS leader al-Baghdadi roams Iraqi desert under US protection
SUMMARY
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS, travels freely throughout Iraq’s Anbar province under protection of the US military.
RESPONSE
The story, originally reported by the Lebanese El-Nashra website, provides no factual evidence of Baghdadi's links to the US military, and rests entirely on an unverifiable statement by an Iraqi lawmaker. The report advances a recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about Washington's support for ISIS and other terrorist organizations in the Middle East.