ISIS Leader Injured in Air Strike, Iraqi Officials Say

Iraqi authorities announced on Sunday that an air strike wounded Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the militant group the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS).

He was hit Saturday in the town of Qaim in Iraq’s Anbar province during a meeting with militant forces, anonymous Iraqi officials told the Associated Press.

The Defense and Interior Ministries of Iraq said in statements that al-Baghdadi was injured, but they did not elaborate on the injury or the air strike. The Pentagon offered no additional information.

Since al-Baghdadi, thought to be in his early 40s, took over the militants in 2010, he has grown it from a local al-Qaeda branch into a powerful, independent Islamist extremist group.

The U.S. and allied forces began launching air strikes against ISIS targets in September.

[AP]