ISIS leader was attending nursery school in al-Qaim on Iraq-Syria border

The world’s most wanted man avoided a deadly airstrike in Iraq thanks to a bureaucratic dispute, it was claimed today.

Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was attending a nursery school in al-Qaim on the Iraq-Syria border, with senior aides and dozens of men set to pledge allegiance to him.

An elite Iraqi intelligence unit known as the ‘Falcons cell’ were aware of this thanks to their sources, and the Iraqi air force were ordered to strike the school – but the defence ministry did nothing.

Officials were reluctant to act after the Falcons did not reveal their target’s identity – before the office of the Prime Minister became involved one hour later

However by then Baghdadi had left the meeting, and Iraqi fighter jets were instead forced to target a moving convoy of vehicles – not knowing which vehicle he was inside.

One of the cell’s leaders said: ‘The strike should have killed Baghdadi if it had happened on time, but we weren’t able to reveal the target and the fighter jets moved late.’

The newspaper’s report, by Ali Hashem of Lebanon TV station Al-Mayadeen, told how ten vehicles were destroyed – but Baghdadi was injured in the head and stomach before being taken to safety.

The strike last November saw an aircraft swoop over the meeting of ISIS figures and kill more than a dozen people, according to local government sources.

Another witness said that eight people had died when a bomb hit a market.

A nearby hospital was said to be overwhelmed with the volume of patients from the raid – including Baghdadi.

Local ISIS officials were reportedly roaming the streets ordering residents to donate blood to help the wounded.

Striking Baghdadi would have been a significant blow in the campaign against ISIS.

Al-Qaim and the neighbouring Syrian town of Albukamal are on a strategic supply route linking territory held by ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

Baghdadi, who declared himself leader of all the world’s Muslims in a televised speech last year, was formerly a prisoner of the US during their occupation of Iraq.

The shady figure was eventually released, and rose through the ranks of the jihadist groups which eventually united to form ISIS.