The leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi, was “critically wounded” when a U.S.-led air strike
targeted the western Iraqi border town of al-Qaim, tribal sources told
Al Arabiya News Channel on Saturday.
U.S. Central Command confirmed in a statement that U.S.-led air
strikes targeted ISIS leaders near their northern Iraqi hub of Mosul
late Friday, without confirming whether Baghdadi was killed, AFP
reported.
“This strike demonstrates the pressure we continue to place on the
ISIL [ISIS] terrorist network and the group’s increasingly limited
freedom to maneuver, communicate and command,” U.S. Central Command
said.
Anbar province MP Mohammad al-Karbuli told Al Arabiya News Channel
that coalition aircraft had targeted a gathering of ISIS leaders in
al-Qaim that led to the killing of tens of people and wounded many more.
Karbuli said chaos ensued the air raid with ISIS members scrambling
to transport their wounded to al-Qaim hospital which was overwhelmed
with the number of patients.
Reuters news agency quoted two witnesses as saying an air strike
targeted a house where senior ISIS officers were meeting, near al-Qaim.
The witnesses said ISIS fighters had cleared a hospital so that their
wounded could be treated. ISIS fighters used loudspeakers to urge
residents to donate blood, the witnesses said.
The agency also quoted residents as saying there were unconfirmed
reports that ISIS’ local leader in the western Iraqi province of Anbar
and his deputy were killed.
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