The head of ISIS was seriously wounded during an airstrike in western Iraq, according to an overseas report.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi suffered life-threatening injuries during the attack, which was coordinated by the US-led coalition back in March, according to the Guardian.
A three-car convoy was targeted during the strike, but officials thought they were taking out a few low-level leaders of ISIS. They were unaware al-Baghdadi was in one of the vehicles, which were traveling between the villages of Umm al-Rous and al-Qaraan, a source in Iraq told the Guardian.
“Yes, he was wounded in al-Baaj near the village of Umm al-Rous on March 18 with a group that was with him,” said Hisham al-Hashimi, an Iraqi official who advises Baghdad on ISIS.
The Pentagon has denied the report.
Al-Baghdadi is no longer in control of day-to-day operations, the Guardian reports.
After he was seriously injured, top ISIS militants believed the Islamic State head was on the brink of death. They urgently met and made plans to name a new leader, the source said.
Al-Baghdadi eventually managed to make a slow recovery, but never took back control of the terrorist organization.
Two officials — a Western diplomat and an Iraqi adviser — have confirmed that the airstrike took place March 18, according to the Guardian.
Al-Baghdadi is believed to have been spending much of his time in al-Baaj, which is around 200 miles west of the ISIS stronghold of Mosul.
“He chose this area because he knew from the war that the Americans did not have much cover there,” a source close to al-Baghdadi said.
As for plans for a successor, the Islamic State would likely pluck someone out of their highly structured leadership system and quickly put him in charge in order to continue ground operations, according to the International Business Times.
“ISIS has likely prepared for Baghdadi’s succession,” said Lauren Squires of the Institute for the Study of War. “ISIS has undergone changes in their structure during different phases of the group’s evolution. They are forward leaning and thinking. It would be shortsighted to think that planning a successor is not only part of their logistical plan, but their ideological plan, too.”