Fate of Islamic State chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi unknown after US raids

The fate of Islamic State's enigmatic leader remains unclear after the US-led coalition unleashed air strikes near the Iraqi city of Mosul, targeting top jihadist militants. Claims swirled that hardline IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had been killed in the attacks late on Friday, but US officials could not confirm if he had even been present. A key aide to al-Baghdadi, Abdul Rahman al-Athaee, also known as Abu Saja, was among the strike's 50 casualties. Ten vehicles carrying a number of the group's top militants qwew also destroyed. Abu Saja often travelled with the group's top leadership. The news came after US President Barack Obama unveiled plans to send up to 1,500 more US troops to Iraq to help battle the militants who have seized a large swathe of territory. In fresh violence on Saturday, some 33 people were killed in a wave of car bombings against Shiite areas in the capital Baghdad, highlighting again the security challenge facing Iraqis even within government-controlled zones. US Central Command confirmed a "series of air strikes" by coalition aircraft against "a gathering of ISIL leaders near Mosul". A convoy of 10 armoured vehicles was destroyed. "We cannot confirm if ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was among those present," CENTCOM spokesman Patrick Ryder said in his statement, using another acronym by which the group is known. A strike against Baghdadi, the self-proclaimed "caliph" of a state straddling Iraq and Syria, would be a major coalition coup. Washington has offered a US$10 million reward for his capture, and some analysts say he is increasingly seen as more powerful than al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri. In a video posted online in July, purportedly the first known footage of Baghdadi, he ordered all Muslims to obey him. Al-Arabiya TV reported Baghdadi had been wounded. Mosul, a city of roughly 1.5 million people, was seized by Islamic State militants in June. Since taking command of one of Iraq's largest cities, Islamic State has imposed a strict version of sharia law on the local population, residents say. Baghdadi, an Iraqi born in Samarra, is said to have been working as an Islamic preacher when the United States invaded Iraq in 2003. He then turned to militancy and was detained by US forces at Camp Bucca for four years. It was there that Baghdadi is believed to have met and trained with al-Qaeda operatives, eventually rising to lead Islamic State. His militant group controls vast tracts of land that straddle the border between Iraq and Syria. Islamic State has overrun large areas of the western province of Anbar in recent weeks. The province was the epicentre of the Sunni insurgency against US troops during the Iraq war, but local tribal leaders eventually turned against the extremists. Those same Sunni tribesmen are requesting US assistance to beat back Islamic State advances in Anbar, where the Islamist militants have massacred members of tribes resisting their rule. Since late last month, Islamic State had executed hundreds of members of the Albu Nimr tribe in Anbar, tribal leaders said. The difficulty of determining who may have been killed in the air strikes reflects one of the many challenges the Obama administration faces as it extends its air campaign in Iraq while limiting the number of US personnel on the ground. While the US has sophisticated systems to collect intelligence from the air, its small military footprint makes it harder to determine the outcome of air strikes. That is even more true of US strikes in Syria, where there is no American military presence. Additional reporting by The Washington Post and The Guardian 'New phase' in drive to stop jihadis The deployment of an additional 1,500 American troops to Iraq marks a "new phase" in the campaign against Islamic State jihadis, US President Barack Obama said last night. "Phase one was getting an Iraqi government that was inclusive and credible - and we now have done that," Obama told CBS News. "Rather than just try to halt ISIL's momentum, we're now in a position to start going on some offence." Obama stressed that the US forces would not engage in combat, and would focus on training Iraqi recruits and some of the Sunni tribes that are fighting the Islamic State group. We will provide them close air support once they are prepared to start going on the offence against ISIL [IS]," Obama told CBS's Face the Nation. "But what we will not be doing is having our troops do the fighting." When asked if more US forces would be sent to Iraq in the future, Obama said: "I'm never going to say never," but that the current plan was to see fewer US troops over time. It comes as Iraqi forces have retaken control of most of the strategic northern town of Baiji from Islamic State, according to army officers. Government troops now hold "more than 70 per cent" of the town and the Baiji assault could also open the way to breaking a months-old jihadist siege of government forces defending Iraq's largest oil refinery, which is located near the town. Iraqi forces entered the town, which had been under the control of IS for months, on October 31 after fighting their way up from the south. Agence France-Presse

Fate of Islamic State chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi unknown after US raids

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Air strikes by US-led coalition target militant leaders but officials are unable to confirm if Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was even present

Air strikes by US-led coalition target militant leaders but officials are unable to confirm if Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was even present