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| Airstrikes hit Islamic State leaders |
U.S. warplanes attacked what
appeared to have been a gathering of top Islamic State leaders in Iraq,
destroying a convoy of 10 militant armed trucks, U.S. Central Command said
Saturday.
The military could not confirm
whether the Islamic State's top leader, Abu Bakr al-Bagdhadi, was killed in the
strike Friday, said Col. Patrick Ryder, a spokesman for the command.
The airstrikes were conducted
near Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city and a stronghold of the Islamic State
since militants seized it in June.
If the strike did take out the
militant group's top leadership it would be a significant success for the
U.S.-led coalition, though insurgent groups have historically been able to
regenerate leaders to replace those who have been killed or captured.
The coalition was not targeting
al-Baghdadi or other leaders at the time of the airstrike, said a defense
official who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to discuss
details of the operation.
Instead, the airstrikes seized
on a target of opportunity when they detected what appeared to be a gathering
of top leadership, the official said.
The airstrikes come a day after
the Pentagon announced that the White House authorized up to 1,500 additional
troops to be sent to Iraq, doubling the size of the U.S. presence there.
The troops will work to expand
the existing mission to advise Iraqi security forces and establish training
facilities, said Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary. U.S.
advisers will not accompany Iraqi units into the field, but will be at fixed
training locations or top level headquarters.
Airstrikes hit Islamic State leaders
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| Airstrikes hit Islamic State leaders |
U.S. warplanes attacked what
appeared to have been a gathering of top Islamic State leaders in Iraq,
destroying a convoy of 10 militant armed trucks, U.S. Central Command said
Saturday.
The military could not confirm
whether the Islamic State's top leader, Abu Bakr al-Bagdhadi, was killed in the
strike Friday, said Col. Patrick Ryder, a spokesman for the command.
The airstrikes were conducted
near Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city and a stronghold of the Islamic State
since militants seized it in June.
If the strike did take out the
militant group's top leadership it would be a significant success for the
U.S.-led coalition, though insurgent groups have historically been able to
regenerate leaders to replace those who have been killed or captured.
The coalition was not targeting
al-Baghdadi or other leaders at the time of the airstrike, said a defense
official who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to discuss
details of the operation.
Instead, the airstrikes seized
on a target of opportunity when they detected what appeared to be a gathering
of top leadership, the official said.
The airstrikes come a day after
the Pentagon announced that the White House authorized up to 1,500 additional
troops to be sent to Iraq, doubling the size of the U.S. presence there.
The troops will work to expand
the existing mission to advise Iraqi security forces and establish training
facilities, said Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary. U.S.
advisers will not accompany Iraqi units into the field, but will be at fixed
training locations or top level headquarters.
