The Iraqi air force struck a convoy of Islamic State (IS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in western Anbar province close to the Syrian border on Sunday, a military statement said.
The fate of the militant leader, who has declared himself the leader of a caliphate in areas his ultrahardline Sunni group controls in Iraq and Syria, is unknown, the military said.
Though Islamic State leaders were among those killed in the air strike, Baghdadi was not among them, hospital sources and residents said.
“Iraqi air forces have bombed the convoy of the terrorist Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi while he was heading to Karabla to attend a meeting with Daesh commanders,” the statement read, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State. Karabla lies on the Euphrates barely 5 km from the Syrian border.
The military said the air force bombed a location where Baghdadi was planning to meet IS commanders. “The location of the meeting was also bombed and many of the group’s leaders were killed and wounded. Fate of murderer al-Baghdadi is unknown and he was carried away by a vehicle. His health condition is still unclear,” the military said.
