‘ISIS leader Baghdadi still alive in Raqqa’
Claims made by Kurdish anti-terror body
Sulaimania, Iraq, July 17: A top Kurdish counter-terrorism official said on Monday that he was 99% sure that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr alBaghdadi was alive and located south of the Syrian city of Raqqa, despite reports that he had been killed.
Numerous reports suggesting that Mr Baghdadi had been killed have raised questions about who might replace him as head of a diverse group comprised of Iraqis and other Arabs as well as hardcore foreign fighters.
“Baghdadi is definitely alive. He is not dead. We have information that he is alive. We believe 99% he is alive,” Lahur Talabany said in an interview.
“Don’t forget his roots go back to al Qaeda days in Iraq. He was hiding from security services. He knows what he is doing.”
The secretive ISIS leader has frequently been reported killed or wounded since he climbed up to the pulpit of a mosque in Mosul in 2014 and declared a caliphate with himself the leader of all Muslims.
After leading his fighters on a sweep through northern Iraq, Mr Baghdadi attempted to create a self-sustaining modern-day caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria.
He is now a man on the run, but still a cunning foe, said Talabany, who as part of the international coalition against ISIS has been at the forefront of efforts to track Baghdadi down.
“He is not an easy figure. He has years of experience in hiding and getting away from the security services,” Mr Talabany said.
“The territory they control right now, still to this day, is very tough territory. It is still not the end of the game for ISIL. Even though they have lost almost all of Mosul and they are getting ready to lose Raqqa as well.”
Iraqi security forces have ended three years of ISIS rule in the Iraqi city of Mosul, and the group is under growing pressure in Raqqa — former strongholds in the militants’ crumbling caliphate.
Mr Talabany said Islamic State was now shifting tactics despite low morale and it would take three or four years to eliminate the group.