Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been killed following US-led air strikes in Syria, according to reports.
A statement from a news agency linked to the terrorist organisation said: "Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been killed by coalition air strikes on Raqqa on the fifth day of Ramadan."
Another source claimed he died in Mosul, Iraq - another Daesh-held stronghold.
In a statement from Iraqi security forces, officers said: "Iraqi aircraft hit Baghdadi's convoy as it was moving towards Karabla to attend a meeting of the Daesh terrorist leaders."
The news comes after an Iraqi TV channel claimed last week that al-Baghdadi, who is believed to be in besieged Daesh 'capital' Raqqa, was hurt by a bomb released from a US-led coalition aircraft.
A spokesman of the coalition, Colonel Chris Garver, said in an email that he had seen the reports but had "nothing to confirm this at this time".
Al Sumariya TV cited local sources in Iraq's Nineveh province that Baghdadi and other Daesh leaders were wounded on Thursday in a coalition air strike on one of the group's command headquarters close to the Syrian border.
However this morning reports in the Indian and Iranian media cited a statement from the al-Amaq news agency, which has links to Daesh.
The statement confirmed the leader's death, but has not yet been verified.
The Ministry of Defence declined to comment.
By John Shammas
