Airstrike on 'Caravan Carrying al-Baghdadi' and Gathering Place of 'ISIS' Leaders

Eyewitnesses and medical sources have told Reuters that prominent leaders of the Islamic State (ISIS) were killed in an airstrike on their gathering place in a town in western Iraq, but it appears that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the group, is not among the dead. Meanwhile, the Iraqi army announced on Sunday, October 19, in a statement read by the country's state television, that its air force bombed the caravan carrying al-Baghdadi, but there is still no news on his fate. The Islamic State group captured vast areas of northern Iraq last summer and declared the establishment of an 'Islamic Caliphate' in the territories it controlled in Iraq and Syria. The Iraqi army's statement said that the 'Falcons Intelligence Cell' affiliated with the 'Ministry of Interior Intelligence Agency', 'based on precise intelligence reports and in coordination with the Joint Operations Command', succeeded in 'heroically bombing the terrorist caravan of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and the gathering place of ISIS leaders using air force'. According to the statement, 'the al-Baghdadi caravan was bombed while moving towards the al-Karabla area in Anbar province to attend a meeting of ISIS leaders'. The statement adds that 'the gathering place of the group's leaders was also targeted by Iraqi army fighter jets, resulting in many of them being killed or wounded'. The Iraqi army's statement claims that the leader of the Islamic State group was 'transferred from the scene on a stretcher', his physical condition is 'unknown', and his fate 'remains unclear'. The Iraqi army has also promised to soon release the names of those killed in the incident. This is the latest uncertain report from the Iraqi army regarding the possibility of al-Baghdadi being killed or wounded. He had previously survived airstrikes by U.S. fighter jets against Islamic State positions. The U.S. military has not yet commented on the Iraqi army's statement. Meanwhile, one of the Islamic State militants, in a phone interview with Reuters, said he could not confirm or deny al-Baghdadi's presence in the targeted caravan. He emphasized that the group would continue its fight regardless of al-Baghdadi's fate. Earlier, the Iraqi army had issued statements about al-Baghdadi being killed or wounded, but these reports were initially unconfirmed and later proven to be inaccurate. After the airstrike, supporters of the Islamic State group released a joint message on Twitter stating: 'Even if al-Baghdadi is killed, the Islamic Caliphate will continue.'