A report has said that the Twitter accounts of several Islamic State (IS) leaders appear to suggest that spiritual leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was among a group of senior commanders injured in air strikes at the weekend.
Mohammed al-Adnani, a spokesman for the IS, assured the nation that Baghdadi was okay and said that he wished him a speedy recovery. He was the first spokesperson to break the ranks and discuss the leader's condition after an order prohibited the group's spokespersons from discussing the fate of the leader, reported News.com.au.
Adnani is IS' most prominent spokesperson and often issues speeches and statements declaring the outfit's policies.
Several Twitter accounts of other IS mouthpieces also suggested that prominent commanders had been killed or injured in the attack but assured people that there is a "planned succession" if the caliph is killed.
An Iraqi Interior Ministry intelligence official said that the air strikes were conducted on Saturday in the town of Qaim in Iraq's Anbar province and added that informants within the terror group had told him that strikes had wounded Baghdadi.
While Pentagon spokesman Colonel Patrick Ryder said that the United States had every reason to believe that the 10 vehicles attacked at the weekend was carrying several IS leaders, he could not confirm if Baghdadi was one of them.
US Central Command also could not corroborate if Baghdadi was one of the leaders killed in the air strikes.
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Meanwhile, Iraq government sources said that they are investigating if the IS leader has been killed.
Baghdadi's death will be a major victory for the coalition forces conducting airstrikes against the IS and aiding the Iraqi forces to regain the areas taken by the terror group.