Al Baghdadi wounded in US air strike? wounded in US air strike?

Crescent International

Muharram 16, 1436 2014-11-09

Daily News Analysis

by Crescent International

There are conflicting reports about Abu Bakr al Baghdadi's condition . One claim from Iraqi defence minister says that he was wounded in a US air strike on November 7 only to be contradicted by a claim from Iraq's interior ministry official claiming he was wounded in an air strike on November 8 morning at Qaim about 460 kms away. Does this indicate Iraqi incompetence or they are simply indulging in wishful thinking?

Baghdad, Crescent-online
Sunday November 09, 2014, 18:19 EST

There are conflicting reports that the self-styled Khalifah of the takfiris, Abu Bakr al- Baghdadi has been wounded in a US air strike.

When and where he was wounded is still not clear. One report from American sources said a “coalition air strike on Friday [November 07] targeted a gathering of US leaders near Mosul in northern Iraq, destroying a convoy of vehicles,” the BBC reported on November 9.

The BBC report went on: “But he [the US official] could not confirm whether IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was present at the time.” The takfiris denied he was there but according to reports from the area, the group’s fighters brandishing guns, forced all people from a hospital in Mosul and called on the people to donate blood.

At the very least, it indicated a large number of takfiris had been wounded or killed in the US air strike.

On Saturday November 8, Iraq's Defence Minister Khalid al-Obeidi posted on his Facebook page the following message: “We have confirmation that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was wounded in an allied forces air raid... in the town of Mosul last Friday evening [Nov. 7].”

The Iraqi defence minister went on: “We confirm the death of his deputy, Abu-Muslim al-Turkmani. We pray to God not to help [Baghdadi] recover and to speed up his demise.”

Reflecting confusion in the ranks of the Iraqis, an Intelligence official at the Interior Ministry was quoted by the Associated Press as saying that Baghdadi was hurt on Saturday November 8 in an air strike on a meeting in the town of Qaim in Iraq's western Anbar province, some 460km from Mosul.

Clearly Baghdadi could not have been in two different places so quickly. The AP quoting a Pentagon official said they had no information about any air strikes in Anbar province, thus rejecting the Interior Ministry story.

Like the US-led air strikes, events in Iraq and Syria are mired in confusion. It is not even certain whether the Americans are serious about targeting the takfiris in any effective manner.

There is widespread skepticism about American intentions. Since the takfiris have been created, financed, armed and trained by the US and its Arabian allies, why would they want to get rid of them now unless of course they have served their purpose to facilitate America’s re-occupation of Iraq and soon-to-be launched invasion of Syria.

President Barack Obama had announced on Friday (Nov. 7) that he was deploying another 1500 troops to Iraq but they would not participate in “combat.” Or so Obama claimed.

Some observers have described this as the creeping re-occupation of Iraq.

The more important story is whether al Baghdadi has been wounded and if so, where and how seriously.

END