ISIS chief ‘critically wounded’ in air raid
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.
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| “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,” US 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.
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.
U.S. officials would not confirm or deny whether Baghdadi, the group’s overall leader, had been targeted, the agency said.
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