Air strike kills 17 Islamic State militants, 9 civilians in Iraq

BAGHDAD - A coalition air strike near the Iraqi border town of al-Qaim killed at least 17 Islamic State militants and nine civilians overnight, a hospital source said.

Arabic channel al-Arabiya al-Hadath said Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was there, citing "anonymous sources", but the information could not be confirmed.

The source in al-Qaim hospital said 29 militants were wounded in the strike targeting Islamic State positions in al-Rumana and Husaiba areas, and some were taken across the border to Syria for treatment.

Islamic State daily radio broadcast al-Bayan said "Crusader Safavid" air strikes near al-Qaim had killed three people and wounded others including women and children, using the derogatory term they use for the anti-Islamic State coalition.

Al-Qaim is about 330 km (200 miles) northwest of Baghdad.

Separately, coalition planes bombed al-Rutba district, 385 km west of Baghdad, killing six Islamic State militants and 11 civilians, according to a source in the local hospital.