The Leader Of Islamic State Has Reportedly Been Killed In An Air Strike

The leader of Islamic State has been killed in an air strike, Syrian state television has reported.

The world's most wanted terrorist Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was blasted with heavy artillery while in the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa.

At least seven civilians were reported to have been killed in Saturday's air strikes, according to independent Syrian news platform Raqqa24, who did not report al-Baghdadi's death.

The Islamic State leader has a £20million bounty on his head, having inspired terror attacks across the globe.

ISIS's official media wing, Amaq, has yet to confirm the news.

He had been believed to be hiding in the desert outside the city of Mosul, northern Iraq, after he escaped from the city while it was being retaken by the Iraqi army, but if the reports are to be believe he must have secretly made his way to Raqqa.

The Pentagon said in December it believed that the ISIS chief was alive, despite repeated efforts by the US-led coalition to take out the jihadist group leader.

"We do think Baghdadi is alive and is still leading ISIL and we are obviously doing everything we can to track his movements," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told CNN.

"If we get the opportunity, we certainly would take advantage of any opportunity to deliver him the justice he deserves.

"We're doing everything we can. This is something we're spending a lot of time on."

Baghdadi was born in Samarra, Iraq, in 1971 and reportedly joined the extremist movement in 2003 following the US invasion of Iraq.

They added that the strike was "designed to minimize the risk to Afghan and U.S. Forces conducting clearing operations in the area while maximizing the destruction of ISIS-K fighters and facilities."