Originally Posted by
Lonewolf_50
.... I suspect if he'd been targeted/taken out by an air attack, the air force would not be able to shut up about it.
Sometime in late June there were many publications in the Russian media with references to the Russian AF (or MoD) officials that there was a strike specially undertaken on the location where this rat was hiding. It was said that though the strike was massive and precise, it was, however, not possible to confirm for sure that he was eliminated. It was suggested to wait for intelligence data or indirect confirmation from sources linked to terrorists. Now it seems that such indirect confirmations started spreading.
I agree that anyway that it is indeed very difficult to be 100% sure in such cases.