IS group extremists killed in air strike; Baghdadi not believed among them

“The Iraqi air force carried out a heroic operation by striking al-Baghdadi’s convoy while he was on his way to attend a meeting with senior ISIS leaders in Karabelah”, the statement said.

US intelligence officials maintain their stand that al-Baghdadi is still leading the extremist group despite Iraq’s report that al-Baghdadi was struck and “carried away in a vehicle” after the attack.

A senior security officer in Anbar also said he had received reports indicating Baghdadi was at least wounded in the strike on his convoy. We will lose a leader but there are a thousand Baghdadis. The convoy that was hit does appear to be the same as those which Bakr al-Baghdadi uses. It was also rumored that the site where the meeting was supposed to take place has also been bombed, resulting in the deaths of several ISIS operatives.

Interestingly, however, the social media mouthpieces of IS are responding to news of this attack not with denials about the attack or confirmations of al-Baghdadi’s survival but with displays of defiant bravado, claiming that the “caliphate” established by IS will outlive al-Baghdadi so the conceivable death of their leader will not impede the group’s progress or mission. Many more are said to have been injured during the air raid.

The ministry has been firm with its reports, but the Pentagon insists that the claims still need to be confirmed and celebration should be saved for when there is solid evidence that al-Baghdadi has been destroyed.

The announcement made by Iraq’s military that al-Baghdadi may be possibly dead or injured is not confirmed yet.

Military officials of United States are convinced that the leader of the ISIS (Islamic State Group) is still alive though there have been claims made by the Iraq military on Sunday that its air force had struck a convoy that was carrying the notorious leader. His status was eventually lowered to “low level prisoner” and recommended for release as he was deemed not to pose a threat to national security.

The U.S. Department of State in 2011 labeled Baghdadi as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist and offered a $10 million bounty.