IS leader Abu Bakr 'seriously injured' in airstrike

IS leader Abu Bakr 'seriously injured' in airstrike. February. 14, 2017 07:07. by Dong-Joo Cho djc@donga.com. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the supreme leader of Islamic State, has been "seriously injured" in an airstrike, a local Iraqi media outlet reported.

The Alhurra news network reported on Monday that Baghdadi was seriously injured in an airstrike by the Iraqi Air Force near the western Iraqi city of al-Qaim on Thursday and moved to an area occupied by the Islamic State in Syria. It is reported that other Islamic State leaders with him were killed or injured.

If the news is true, the command of the Islamic State is now in power vacuum. The U.S. put 25 million dollars on his head at the end of last year but his whereabouts remain unknown. He told IS soldiers in Mosul in November last year, “Fight against the enemies of god” in a recording to instill confidence in them in battles.

There were several reports that Baghdadi was killed or injured. Though it was reported that he was killed in an airstrike by allied forces in Syria in June last year, it turned out to be false after he released his voice recording. Some local media reported that he was seriously injured in an airstrike in northern Iraq at the end of January this year.