'Senior ISIS commanders killed in air strikes in Iraq, fate of leader Baghdadi unknown'

Al Arabiya reports that coalition received intel on Islamic State locations; Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was reportedly en route to area.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Air strikes against ISIS targets [file] (photo credit: screenshot)
Air strikes against ISIS targets [file]
(photo credit: screenshot)
A number of prominent Islamic State operatives were killed Thursday in intensive air-strikes by the US-led coaltion against the terrorist group in the Iraqi town of al-Qaim near the Syrian border, Al Arabiya reported.
It was not clear if Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was injured in the strikes, however he reportedly was en route to the area.
The air strikes targeted five Islamic State-held locations and were based upon accurate intelligence, according to the report.
Al Arabiya reported that dozens of members and leaders of the terrorist organization were killed in the strike. A hospital source told Reuters that at least 17 Islamic State militants were killed overnight in al-Qaim and 29 additional militants were wounded.
Many Islamic State institutions and building in al-Qaim were destroyed in the strikes. The group instructed local residents not to leave their homes after the coalition raids.
According to the report, Islamic State reinforcements from Syria were called to al-Qaim in the aftermath of the attack to help evacuate the dead and wounded.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Monday that 1,465 Islamic State members have been killed by US-led air strikes since September 23, 2014.
Over 1,000 civilians have also been killed in the attacks, the London-based organization reported.
Hundreds more have been wounded by the air strikes, among them 62 civilians. Eight of the civilians injured were children.
The observatory emphasized that the numbers presented were only of documented cases, saying the number is likely much higher if undocumented cases were to be factored in.