Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — The United States has reported an attempt to kill the leadership of Islamic State of Iraq and Levant.

Officials said U.S. fighter-jets struck a suspected ISIL convoy near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. They said the attack on late Nov. 7 targeted a 10-truck convoy that included ISIL leaders, including commander Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi.

“We cannot confirm if ISIL leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi was among those present,” the U.S. military’s Central Command said on Nov. 8.

This marked the first report of a U.S.-led coalition strike on the ISIL leadership. Earlier, officials asserted that the U.S. military was not targeting Al Baghdadi.

But officials said the latest U.S. operations reflected pressure by President Barack Obama to expand the war against ISIL. Obama has approved an additional 1,500 U.S. troops, more than doubling the current American military presence in Iraq.

“This step is a little late, but we welcome it,” Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar Al Abadi said in a statement.

Officials said another U.S. air strike took place along the Iraqi border with Syria. They said the U.S. Air Force targeted Al Qaim, deemed a waystation for ISIL.

“This strike demonstrates the pressure we continue to place on the ISIL terrorist network and the group’s increasingly limited freedom to maneuver, communicate and command,” Centcom said.

  Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, ISIL, U.S. jets strike 10-truck convoy that may have included Al Baghdadi, WorldTribune.com