US-led International Coalition fighting the self-proclaimed Islamic State IS can't specify the whereabouts of the terror group's commander, intelligence sources revealed. ABC News quoted a senior official as saying that IS Commander Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was no longer in Mosul. "There is no confirmed information about his whereabouts or when he left Mosul," the official said. The latest intelligence information refutes earlier reports released a week after US President Donald Trump's inauguration in January that confirmed Baghdadi was besieged in Mosul. With the Iraqi army in collaboration with US-led coalition liberating most of Mosul, IS last stronghold in Iraq, the possibility of Baghdadi to be hiding in Mosul remains unaccepted. Another senior official said US forces believed Baghdadi was hiding in a place of religious nature in the densely populated Mosul's right bank. He added the troops could not target the area for fear that large numbers of civilians may be killed as well as avoiding condemnation from the Islamic world. Over the past two months, US forces have repeatedly denied media reports that Baghdadi was likely to have fled to Raqqa, the group's capital in Syria. The official confirmed Baghdadi would be under the rubble if he remained in Mosul. "But we don't have confirmed information he was killed," he said. He is most probably hiding in a desert village near Mosul, he added, confirming the detention of Baghdadi would be a matter of time. According to intelligence information, Baghdadi is always surrounded by a number of bodyguards armed with highly equipped weapons and explosive belts, making his arrest very difficult. Baghdadi last appeared in public in July 2014 when he delivered the Friday sermon from al-Nouri Mosque in Mosul. Since then, he delivered messages through voice recordings and video tapes. The US has earmarked a reward of $10 million for whoever gives information on Baghdadi's hiding. Iraqi reports claimed Baghdadi had infiltrated Turkish borders to stay among his followers in Gaziantep. But these reports are not verified.
