Was the supreme leader of IS poisoned?

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS), is believed to have been poisoned in his food during an assassination attempt.

IS leader Al-Baghdadi. Photo: AFP.

IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and three other close associates were poisoned while having lunch in the small town of Be'aj.southwest of Mosul, Iraq, near the border with Syria,Sputnik reported today.

All four men were so severely poisoned that they had to be taken to a secret location for treatment. ISIS suspected the poison had entered their food, soAuthorities have arrested those involved in order to track down the perpetrator, an anonymous source told.Media News Agency.

Baghdadi was suspected of hiding in the Mosul area last month, after two years of speculation that he had been killed in the summer of 2014.

The IS leader is around 45 years old and was born in Samarra, north of Baghdad. He was a cleric at a mosque before helping IS seize large swathes of Iraqi and Syrian territory.

Baghdadi first appeared publicly in July 2014. The US had offered a $10 million reward for information leading to his capture or killing.

According to VNE