Iraq investigates reports on Daesh chief’s injury
Iraq's security services are investigating reports to determine whether the chief of Daesh Takfiri terrorist group has been injured in an airstrike in the western Anbar Province.
“We are still collecting and cross-checking information to reach an accurate assessment," Interior Ministry spokesman Saad Maan said on Monday.
The Iraqi military said on Sunday that the country's Air Force had hit the convoy of Ibrahim al-Samarrai aka Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, but added that his fate remained unknown "as he was carried to a vehicle."
Iraqi media said Samarrai was injured in the airstrike and moved quickly from the scene of the attack.
The statement added that the elite intelligence section of Iraqi Air Force targeted the convoy of the terrorist leader after gathering precise information about his plan to attend a meeting of Daesh operatives in the restive province of Anbar. The venue of the meeting was also struck.
Similar reports had also previously emerged about Samarrai, who declared himself leader of Daesh last year, but were never confirmed. Back in March, media reports said the Daesh chief was wounded in a US-led airstrike.
Local officials’ opinions
Rafa al-Fahdawi, the leader of an organization grouping tribes opposed to Daesh in Anbar, confirmed the air raid, saying, "According to former members of the security forces living there, Baghdadi was seriously wounded and several Daesh leaders were killed."
A top security officer in Anbar also said he had received reports showing Samarrai suffered injuries in the attack on his convoy and transferred to a hospital in Albu Kamal, a town near the Syrian border.
Meanwhile, some other senior Iraqi security officials said on Monday that Samarrai was probably not in the convoy, citing preliminary information that the convoy carried lower ranking Daesh figures, led by Abu Saad al-Karbouli.
"After assessing all information we received from our sources, it's more likely that the convoy we struck was not carrying Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi," said one of the officials. "We are still carrying out extensive efforts to clarify the situation."
Daesh militants currently control large areas of both Iraq and Syria, where they have killed many people over the past few years.
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