Iraqis claim ISIL leader wounded in US airstrike

Fox News:
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State terrorist group, was wounded in an airstrike, Iraqi officials said Sunday, while Pentagon officials said they had no immediate information on such a strike or al-Baghdadi being wounded.

Iraq's Defense and Interior Ministries issued statements saying al-Baghdadi had been wounded, without elaborating.

An Interior Ministry intelligence official told The Associated Press that al-Baghdadi was hit during a meeting Saturday with militants in the town of Qaim in Iraq's western Anbar province. The official, citing informants within the militant group, said the strike wounded al-Baghdadi. A senior Iraqi military official also said he learned in operational meetings that al-Baghdadi had been wounded.

Both officials said the operation was carried out by Iraqi security forces. Neither knew the extent of al-Baghdadi's apparent injuries.

Col. Pat Ryder, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command in the Middle East, told Fox News on Sunday he was unable to confirm the reports.

"We have no information to corroborate press reports that ISIL leader al-Baghdadi has been injured," he said.
...
The Jerusalem Post reports that al-Baghdadi's deputy was killed in the strike, and a Twitter message from an ISIL spokesman appears to confirm that  al-Baghdadi was wounded.  The seriousness of his wounds is in dispute.  Now would be a good time to consider a special ops operation gainst the hospital in Qaim.

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