A strike against ISIL in Kobani, on the Turkey-Syria border[/caption]US Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes has confirmed that recent airstrikes struck some of the leaders of the ISIL terrorist group.
�As you know we did take a strike that successfully hit a number of ISIL vehicles that we assess was associated with ISIL leadership,� he said on Tuesday.
The United States did not elaborate on whether the airstrike killed the terror group�s leader, Ibrahim al-Samarrai aka Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Washington �cannot confirm his status at this point,� Rhodes stated.
However, Iraqi Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi said in a Facebook post that the leader was injured and Musallam al-Turkmani, a top deputy, was killed during the airstrikes.
In addition, local witnesses and government sources confirmed that al-Baghdadi was hurt in the Saturday attack. Two witnesses said the fighters dropped bombs on the town of al-Qaim, next to the Syrian border.
Local government sources also said that an aircraft dropped its payload over a meeting of senior ISIL militants, killing over a dozen of them.
A local hospital reported that it had received a high number of patients from the airstrikes, including al-Baghdadi.
Rhodes noted that the attack aimed to send a message to the terrorists that the US won�t �allow for a safe haven for ISIL and its fighters and its leadership in Iraq or Syria.�
He threatened that if the terrorists move, the US is going to �hit them.�
By Press TV
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