Fueling reports that, Islamic State's leader and self-styled Khalipha, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a US-led air raid in Raqqa on the Iraq-Syria border, inputs from Arabic, Turkish and Iranian media suggest that the leader and many commanders of the terror group were indeed wounded in the air strike on Friday.
While reports of his death are still unconfirmed, an Iraqi TV channel Al Sumaria reported that on Thursday international coalition aircraft fired on a position in a border area between Iraq and Syria.
A post on a Bulgarian site www.blitz.bg reported a source as saying, "The received messages testify that leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and many commanders were injured in the headquarters."
Arabic media reported of al-Baghdadi's death, citing pro-Daesh news agency al-Amaq.
The alleged news agency of the terror group said on behalf of Daesh, that their “Caliph” al-Baghdadi had been killed.
“Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been killed by coalition air strikes on Raqqa on the fifth day of Ramadan,” it said.
However, express.co.uk quotes a spokesman for the US-led coalition, Colonel Chris Garver, saying, he had seen the reports but had "nothing to confirm this at this time".
The alternative scenario that Baghdadi is moving around and is also being considered.
There was intelligence believed to be credible over the last six months that Baghdadi traveled to the Mosul, Iraq, area at least twice, said an US official told abna24.com.
The possibility that Baghdadi is hiding in Raqqa has in no way been dismissed.