Iraq said an air raid hit a convoy transporting Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi near the Syrian border Sunday, Agence France-Presse reported, but what happened to him is unclear.
This file image made from video posted on a militant website Saturday, July 5, 2014, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, purports to show the leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, delivering a sermon at a mosque in Iraq. (AP Photo/Militant video, File)The convoy was "moving toward Karabla to attend a meeting of the Daesh (IS) terrorist leaders," AFP said, citing an Iraqi security statement.
More from AFP:
The statement issued by Iraq's "war media cell" said Baghdadi was "transported in a vehicle" after the strike but added that "his health status was unknown."
The meeting place was also struck in the operation and several IS leaders already gathered there were killed or wounded, it said.
Interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan told AFP that "the strike was yesterday (Saturday) at noon."
In Washington, a US military official said: "We've seen the Iraqi statement about al-Baghdadi but have no info that confirms it."
This isn't the first claim of a strike against Baghdadi. An operation in November 2014 failed to kill him.
With a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head, Baghdadi's whereabouts are a constant mystery, the AFP said. His only public appearance as Islamic State chief occurred in 2014 in a Mosul mosque after he proclaimed a caliphate.
Read the entire AFP report here.
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