The US military cannot confirm reports that the Islamic State (ISIS) group leader may have been struck in an airstrike, but a Pentagon official suggested on Tuesday that lower-level figures may have been hit.
Speculation has swirled over the fate of jehadist leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi after claims that he was killed or wounded in a strike by the US-led air armada targeting his group.
Baghdadi is the self-declared “caliph” of the radical group that has seized large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria. “Obviously there’s a lot of conflicting reports out there on the fate of al-Baghdadi. But the bottom line from our perspective is we simply cannot confirm his current status,” Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steven Warren said.
The Pentagon has said strikes on Friday hit a gathering of ISIS leaders in the northern Iraq city of Mosul, prompting rumors of Baghdadi’s demise. US officials are looking into the reports, but Warren suggested on Monday that it was infact lower “tactical-level leadership” who were hit.