ISIS Leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi Reportedly ‘Injured In Airstrike’

An Iraqi TV channel has reported that Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was wounded in an airstrike in northern Iraq Thursday.

U.S. and Iraqi officials, however, said Friday that they could not confirm the report. Spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition, which is fighting the Islamic militants, Colonel Chris Garver said in a statement that he was aware of the reports but had "nothing to confirm this at this time."

The Express reported that the leader was travelling in a convoy with senior officials of the group, also known as ISIS, when it was struck.

According to Al Sumariya TV, the self-proclaimed caliph, along with other leaders, was injured near one of the group’s command headquarters close to the Syrian border. The incident occurred in the northern province of Nineveh. A source told the Iraqi channel that the leaders were hit by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, Reuters reported.

"According to reports, the ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was injured along with some members of the organization who were gathered at that meeting,” the source reportedly said. “The attack was carried out on the basis of precise intelligence information that led to strike its own that site.”

Kurdish and Arab security officials also could not confirm the authenticity of the report.

There have been several reports in the past that claimed that the leader of the hardline Sunni group was wounded or even killed.