Iraqi air force claims air strikes killed dozen of IS commanders
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 13 February 2017 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Iraqi air force claims air strikes killed dozen of IS commanders, 13 February 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5975a5353.html [accessed 30 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
February 13, 2017
The Iraqi Air Force has said 13 Islamic State (IS) commanders were killed in air strikes on a building where the extremist group's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was believed to be.
Baghdadi's name was not on the list of the dead published by the Iraqi military.
In a statement on February 13, the air force said at least 64 lower-ranked IS militants were killed in the air strikes in the region of Qaim in western Iraq.
The Iraqi military said Baghdadi moved last week in a convoy from the extremist group's de facto capital in Syria, Raqqa, to Qaim, over the border.
Baghdadi was supposedly meeting other senior commanders to discuss a possible successor as well as the extremist group's military situation in its Iraqi stronghold, Mosul.
The IS leader has been reportedly wounded and even dead several times in the past.
Based on reporting by AFP and BBC
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
