Update: Eight ISIS Leaders Killed in Strike – But Not al-Baghdadi

baghdadi
A photo of the Daesh Takfiri group chief, Ibrahim al-Samarrai aka Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, from US Army files relating to his time as a detainee in Iraq. (Press TV)

Eight ISIS leaders reportedly were killed in an airstrike this weekend in western Iraq. But Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Islamic State leader, was likely not among them.
Reuters reported:

Eight senior figures from Islamic State were killed in an air strike while meeting in a town in western Iraq, but the group’s reclusive leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi did not appear to be among them, residents of the town and hospital sources said.

Iraq said on Sunday its air force had hit the meeting and had also struck a convoy that was carrying Baghdadi to attend it. It said Baghdadi had been driven away from the convoy in an unknown condition.The Iraqi military’s announcement was the latest unconfirmed report of the possible death or injury of Baghdadi, who has survived a year of U.S.-led air strikes and multi-sided wars in two countries since proclaiming himself caliph of all Muslims after his forces swept through most of northern Iraq last year.

A Twitter site which publishes statements from Islamic State said “rumors” that an air strike had targeted Baghdadi were false.

A U.S. military official in Baghdad, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States has not seen any indications Baghdadi was killed or injured during the operation.

“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 Iraqi military said in a statement.

Photo of author
Jim Hoft is the founder and editor of The Gateway Pundit, one of the top conservative news outlets in America. Jim was awarded the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award in 2013 and is the proud recipient of the Breitbart Award for Excellence in Online Journalism from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation in May 2016. In 2023, The Gateway Pundit received the Most Trusted Print Media Award at the American Liberty Awards.

You can email Jim Hoft here, and read more of Jim Hoft's articles here.

 

Thanks for sharing!