U.S. led coalition airstrikes may have hit IS leader Baghdadi in northern Iraq

The United States led coalition airstrikes may have hit Islamic State (IS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Friday as it targeted a gathering of IS leaders near Mosul in northern Iraq.

According to the BBC, a U.S. defence official said that Friday's airstrikes destroyed a convoy of vehicles but could not confirm whether Baghdadi was present there.

The official also said that 10 armed IS trucks were destroyed in the airstrikes that showed how the U.S. continues to put pressure on IS network.

Baghdadi had made a rare public appearance at a mosque in Mosul in July.

IS militants have taken over large swathes of Iraq and Syria and have been targeted by hundreds of airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition since August.