The source said that he was wounded by an attack from the US-led coalition while travelling in a three-car convoy in March in Nineveh, Iraq.

At first his chances of survival were deemed by his lieutenants to be low, but he pulled through.

However, he was left so weakened that his inner circle reportedly mooted the idea of naming a new leader.

He is slowly recovering but does not have the reins of the organisation, according to The Guardian.

Two officials confirmed to the paper that the strike on the convoy did indeed take place, on March 18 in the al-Baaj district of Nineveh, not far from the Syrian border.

One, a Western diplomat, told the paper that Coalition generals weren’t sure whether al-Baghdadi was in the convoy.

Another, an Iraqi expert on Isis used by the government in Baghdad in an advisory capacity, revealed that he had in fact been wounded.

He said: ‘Yes, he was wounded in al-Baaj near the village of Umm al-Rous on 18 March with a group that was with him.’

This area is known to be largely lawless and a hotbed of jihadi activity, with very little Coalition air presence.

News of the attack follows contradictory accounts of al-Baghdadi being killed in air strikes in November and December.

Raffaello Pantucci, Director of International Security Studies for defence think tank the Royal United Services Institute, told MailOnline that it’s entirely plausible that the infamous leader had been hit, but warned that it might not have a long-term impact on the group if he didn't survive.

He said: ‘We’ve heard these stories before. It's possible, as they would be going after him and they would be trying to drone him, but it’s right to be suspicious.

'If he was killed it would have a big effect on the group as a lot of the group is wrapped up in his identity. The whole of Islamic State is built on success and if the leader is bumped off it’s harder to say you’re winning.

‘But it’s quite a resilient group. They would do a PR piece on it and say he’s gone to a better place – but coherence often comes from leadership.

‘However, it would not mean the end of the group by any stretch.’ 

(dailymail.co.uk)