Monitoring
of Isis communications following attack near Mosul reveals nothing to suggest Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi was killed
The
Guardian
Officials
in Baghdad and Washington
remained unclear on Sunday about the fate of the Islamic State (Isis) leader
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi after a key aide was killed in a US air strike near Mosul .
A senior
Iraqi official confirmed to the Guardian that the aide, Abdur Rahman al-Athaee,
also known as Abu Sajar, was killed in the the attack late on Friday night,
which hit a 10-car convoy southwest of the Isis stronghold.
Athaee was
known to have been in almost constant contact with Baghdadi and officials
deduced that his presence in the convoy likely meant that Baghdadi was with
him.
However,
monitoring of the group’s communications in the aftermath of the attack has
revealed nothing to suggest that Baghdadi was killed. Officials have not ruled
out that he may have been injured.