UPDATED 7.44am: Iraqi security forces claim to have struck the convoy of Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in an air raid near the country's border with Syria.

LISTEN: Middle East correspondent Kamahl Santamaria joins KPMG Early Edition to discuss the claims.

"The Iraqi air force carried out a heroic operation targeting the convoy of the criminal terrorist Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi," Iraq's security forces said in a joint statement on Sunday.

"His health status is unknown," it said, adding that the leader of the IS jihadist group was "transported in a vehicle" after the strike.

Middle East Correspondent Kamahl Santamaria said hospital sources have confirmed ISIS members have been killed, but no one can confirm whether it was the leader.

"This is when we sort of get our grain of salt out, because this has happened many times before. There's been many claims he's been killed only for him to pop up not too long later still alive."

Iraqi security sources have previously said Baghdadi had been injured or killed in past strikes, but such claims were either never verified or later denied.

The statement was released by the "war media cell", a structure which provides updates on the war against IS on behalf of the interior and defence ministries as well as the paramilitary Popular Mobilisation forces.

However, it's doubtful the death of an ISIS leader would end, or even dampen the strength of the group.

Mr Santamaria said while he's a big fish, there will be many layers of leadership.

"There's been tweets out from some of their supporters saying 'does the entire world not know that even if hypothetically our leader was killed, do you think the Caliphate would end? Do you think we would leave?"

Iraqi aircraft struck Baghdadi's convoy as it was "moving towards Karabla to attend a meeting of the Daesh terrorist leaders", the statement said.

"The meeting place was also bombed and many of those leaders were killed and wounded," it said, adding that it would later release names.

Daesh is an Arabic acronym for IS, which last year proclaimed a "caliphate" straddling Iraq and Syria.

Karabla is located on the Euphrates river barely 5km from the border with Syria.
Interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan told AFP that "the strike was yesterday (Saturday) at noon."

It said the operation was conducted in coordination with Iraq's interior ministry intelligence services and the joint operation command centre that includes military advisers from the US-led coalition.

The health and whereabouts of Baghdadi, who has a $US10 million US bounty on his head, are the subject of constant speculation.

Baghdadi has only appeared once in public since taking the helm of the movement, in June 2014 at a mosque in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

In his sermon, he asked all Muslims to obey him and join the caliphate.