U.S. strikes IS convoy in Iraq

WASHINGTON – The U.S. carried out airstrikes that targeted a gathering of Islamic State leaders in northern Iraq, military officials said Saturday.

U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, confirmed that warplanes destroyed a 10-vehicle convoy traveling near Mosul late Friday.

Col. Patrick Ryder, a Central Command spokesman, could not say whether the leader of the Sunni Muslim extremist group, Abu Bakr Baghdadi, was among those in the convoy.

News of the attack came a day after the Pentagon announced it would send up to 1,500 additional troops to Iraq, more than doubling the size of the U.S. force assisting Iraqi and Kurdish troops battling Islamic State militants.

Killing Baghdadi would be a significant blow to the group, which has seized much of Iraq and Syria. He is regarded as one of the most powerful militants in the world, a former Islamist preacher now threatening to rewrite the map of the Middle East.

Baghdadi was declared leader of Islamic State in 2010 after his predecessor was killed. A year later, the U.S. State Department announced a $10 million reward for information leading to his capture or death.