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 . Scroll down for video . Target : Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ( pictured ) was attending a nursery school in al-Qaim , Iraq , with senior aides and dozens of men set to pledge allegiance to him . 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 , reported The Sunday Times . 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 were n'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 . Location : 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 in al-Qaim , on the Iraq-Syria border . The strike last November - which was reported by MailOnline - saw an aircraft swoop over the meeting of ISIS figures and kill more than a dozen people , according to local government sources . The Falcons intelligence cell is an elite anti-terrorism unit that works under the Iraqi Prime Minister , based in a secret bunker in Baghdad . The group is in charge of charge of counter-terrorism activity in Iraq , and is currently targeting a number of ISIS leaders . A leader from the elite cell - who gave the pseudonym of Major Bakr - insisted that it was 'very close ' to getting their target , Baghdadi . The Falcons group was previously in the news in 2013 when its officials issued a letter stating Abu Mohammed al-Golani , the leader of Al Qaeda group the Nusra Front in Syria , had sought to kidnap United Nations workers . 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 . World ’ s most-wanted man : Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi . The world ’ s most-wanted man was an impressive footballer known as ‘ Maradona ’ by inmates at a US detention camp . American forces detained Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi at Camp Bucca in 2005 shortly after the Iraq invasion for four years - and he ‘ amazed ’ others there with his football skills , an ex-inmate said . Baghdadi also used to play for his mosque ’ s team , with one former acquaintance telling The Sunday Times : ‘ He was obsessed with scoring goals - he would turn nervous if he didn ’ t. ’ After his time at Camp Bucca , Baghdadi – who has a PhD in Islamic history - emerged as one of the most brutal terrorists in the world . US officials put a $ 10million ( £6.7million ) bounty on his head four years ago when intelligence identified his movements as critically dangerous . This warrant was publicised once more following the beheadings of US nationals James Foley and Steven Sotloff as well as Britons David Haines and Alan Henning . He maintained a low profile for months as ISIS rose to global infamy and even Al Qaeda denounced them as 'too extreme ' . But last July he revealed himself to the public with a speech , filmed and posted on YouTube .
ISIS leader was attending nursery school in al-Qaim on Iraq-Syria border . He was meeting with senior aides and dozens of men pledging allegiance . Elite Iraqi intelligence unit 'Falcons cell ' ordered Iraqi air force to strike . But defence ministry did n't act after Falcons did n't reveal target 's identity . Office of Prime Minister then became involved - but not for another hour . But by then Baghdadi had left meeting and Iraqi jets hit moving convoy . Comment: