Report: US Airstrikes Target Top ISIS Leaders

US Warplanes Hit Something, Unsure If It Was Baghdadi

Scores of people were killed in an overnight US attack near Mosul, when airstrikes were launched against a crowd of people that the Pentagon figured might conceivably be “a gathering of ISIS leaders.

Details beyond that are scant, as people in Mosul reported 50 bodies were brought in from the attack, but that they had no idea who these people are. Centcom was similarly unclear on what they actually hit.

The attack sparked speculation that the Pentagon might be trying to kill Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and while they would clearly like to target him, the Pentagon conceded that they are unsure if Baghdadi was at the meeting, assuming it was actually a meeting, and whether he was hit, if indeed he was present.

The lack of intelligence about what they’re aiming at is a growing problem for the Pentagon as they escalate attacks against ISIS territory, as a growing number of civilian deaths have been reported in recent days.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.