The Iraqi air force has targeted a meeting of commanders from the Islamic State group that its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi may have been attending, a statement said on Monday.
It was not clear in the statement sent by the Joint Operations Command coordinating the fight against the jihadists in Iraq whether the world's most wanted terrorist had been hit.
An intelligence cell monitored a convoy that the statement said transported Baghdadi from the area of Raqa, the jihadists' main Syrian stronghold, across the border to the Al-Qaim area in western Iraq.
The statement said Iraqi air force F-16 jets struck a meeting of top IS commanders on February 11 but provided no additional information on Baghdadi's fate.
"The direct strike on the meeting location led to the death of 13 Daesh (IS) commanders," said the statement, which provided a list of names.
The Iraq-born Baghdadi, who proclaimed a "caliphate" straddling Iraq and Syria in June 2014, was not one of those names.
The Iraqi military has reported Baghdadi killed or wounded on numerous occasions since it launched a counter-offensive to regain the territory lost to IS almost three years ago.
Iraq's military said dozens of other IS militants were also killed in other strikes in the same area as part of the operation last week.
Baghdadi's health is unknown, but the Pentagon said six weeks ago that he was still alive and leading IS as it tries to defend the remnants of its crumbling "caliphate".
In the statement issued on Monday, the Iraqi military claimed that Baghdadi had come to the border area to discuss with his commanders "the setbacks taking place in Mosul".
Mosul is Iraq's second city and the largest ever held by IS.
After a string of major losses in both Iraq and Syria, the jihadists' two main strongholds of Mosul and Raqa are both under attack from forces backed by a US-led coalition.
Iraqi forces have already retaken the eastern side of Mosul and, nearly four months into a massive offensive to recapture the city, they are now readying for an assault on the west side.
In mid-December, the United States more than doubled the bounty on the shadowy IS leader's head to $25 million.
Tuesday, 14 February 2017
*WHAT NIGERIANS SHOULD REMEMBER ABOUT FORMER US PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA*:
The former president of United States, Barack Obama has really shown that he is against every nation that is
1. He refused to visit Nigeria but visited Ghana.
2. He refused to assist us with the experimental Ebola drug when we had Ebola outbreak. Nigeria had to fight alone and we won.
3. He stopped buying Nigeria's oil for years. NIGERIA went from a supplier of 10% of US beeds to Zero.
4. He refused to classify Boko Haram as a terror organization even when advised to do so till they became top powerful and bombed the UN building in Abuja. Even after UN bombing it took two more years and 25000 Nigerians murdered for OBAMA to accept Boko HARAM was a terror group.
5. He refused to sell necessary much needed weapons for Nigeria to confront Boko Haram forcing us to fly cash all over the world to buy arms. This hurt Nigeria badly.
6. He interfered in Nigeria's presidential elections and did not hide his support for a particular candidate. Now he is concerned about Russia's interferrence in US elections what rubbish
7. He played politics of division by sending his Secretary of State, Senator John Kerry to bypass the Southern Nigeria and hold secret meetings with only the 19 Northern states governors and the Sultan of Sokoto. He went further to subsequently host 13 Northern Governors in the White House in Washington DC. Only God knows why he was trying to divide Nigeria in this way.
8. Even as we were sliding deeper into chaos and recession, and misguided Federal Government policies, President Obama said our president was doing very well. Indeed after 5 million jobs lost, 11 currency exchange rates, inflation at 19%, a contracting, shrinking economy, he said doing well? How? He must have meant doing well for him Obama not for Nigeria or Nigerians.
For the above reasons and more, I and many other Nigerians say *good riddance to bad rubbish*
Whatever he did for Americans is their business. This is the Nigerian prospective. So Obama lovers can go eat their hearts out.
I am happy Obama is gone.
1. He refused to visit Nigeria but visited Ghana.
2. He refused to assist us with the experimental Ebola drug when we had Ebola outbreak. Nigeria had to fight alone and we won.
3. He stopped buying Nigeria's oil for years. NIGERIA went from a supplier of 10% of US beeds to Zero.
4. He refused to classify Boko Haram as a terror organization even when advised to do so till they became top powerful and bombed the UN building in Abuja. Even after UN bombing it took two more years and 25000 Nigerians murdered for OBAMA to accept Boko HARAM was a terror group.
5. He refused to sell necessary much needed weapons for Nigeria to confront Boko Haram forcing us to fly cash all over the world to buy arms. This hurt Nigeria badly.
6. He interfered in Nigeria's presidential elections and did not hide his support for a particular candidate. Now he is concerned about Russia's interferrence in US elections what rubbish
7. He played politics of division by sending his Secretary of State, Senator John Kerry to bypass the Southern Nigeria and hold secret meetings with only the 19 Northern states governors and the Sultan of Sokoto. He went further to subsequently host 13 Northern Governors in the White House in Washington DC. Only God knows why he was trying to divide Nigeria in this way.
8. Even as we were sliding deeper into chaos and recession, and misguided Federal Government policies, President Obama said our president was doing very well. Indeed after 5 million jobs lost, 11 currency exchange rates, inflation at 19%, a contracting, shrinking economy, he said doing well? How? He must have meant doing well for him Obama not for Nigeria or Nigerians.
For the above reasons and more, I and many other Nigerians say *good riddance to bad rubbish*
Whatever he did for Americans is their business. This is the Nigerian prospective. So Obama lovers can go eat their hearts out.
I am happy Obama is gone.
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