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Is the Islamic State’s caliph al-Baghdadi dead (again)?

Jun 17, 2016 11:43 am By Robert Spencer

“ISIS have been accused of covering up the death of its talismanic leader in a desperate bid to prevent morale collapsing among its fighters.” Maybe the caliph is dead. But he has been severely wounded and/or dead before:

Islamic State’s caliph al-Baghdadi said to be severely injured, flees to Syria July 5, 2014

Several months later, after widespread reports that he had been killed in an airstrike: Islamic State caliph undead, calls for “volcanoes of jihad” November 13, 2014

Islamic State’s caliph Ibrahim, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, again reported seriously wounded April 21, 2015

Bin Laden protege reportedly leading Islamic State after injury to caliph al-Baghdadi that Pentagon denies happened April 23, 2015

UK’s Guardian: Islamic State’s caliph still alive, but paralyzed from spinal injury in airstrike Pentagon denies hit him April 27, 2015

Radio Iran: Islamic State’s caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead of injuries from airstrike Pentagon denies hit him April 27, 2015

Is he really dead this time? Maybe. His situation is odd in any case, whatever his condition: he claims to be the caliph, the source and summit of the appeal that the Islamic State has among young Muslims, and yet aside from his inaugural appearance when the Islamic State declared itself the caliphate on June 29, 2014, he has scarcely been in evidence, with the only signs of his existence being a couple of audiotapes. And his elusiveness may be calculated: the Islamic State leadership may have decided that the power of his appeal is enhanced by his being more mythical than real — an omnipresent but gnomic presence a la Big Brother in Orwell’s 1984. From a practical standpoint, since he has been so rarely seen or heard from, it hardly matters whether he is dead or alive: obviously the Islamic State soldiers on without his having become a familiar media figure.

If al-Baghdadi is indeed dead, it is odd for the group to cover up that fact. Al-Baghdadi has been so absent that by no stretch of the imagination is he anything akin to Chairman Mao — a presence so dominant that Chinese Communist leaders had reason to believe the state itself would be imperiled by the announcement of his demise. In this case, the death of al-Baghdadi could be used as an opportunity by the group to shore up its own claims. They say, after all, that they love death and are seeking martyrdom, so why not announce his death and hail him as a martyr? They could in that event also bolster their claim to be the caliphate by choosing a new caliph and announcing their determination to continue.

In light of that, it seems unlikely that he is really dead. Osama bin Laden, who never claimed to be the caliph, was widely thought to be dead when he made no public statements for a couple of years; then he resurfaced. Accordingly, it’s best to reserve judgment in this case.

al-Baghdadi

“ISIS are accused of covering up the death of leader al-Baghdadi for fears the group’s morale is close to COLLAPSING following spate of defeats,” by Simon Tomlinson, MailOnline, June 16, 2016:

ISIS have been accused of covering up the death of its talismanic leader in a desperate bid to prevent morale collapsing among its fighters.

Reports circulating earlier this week said Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had been killed in a U.S. air strike in the terror group’s Syrian stronghold of Raqqa.

His death would be a devastating blow for the jihadists at a time when they are losing swathes of territory and hundreds of millions of dollars in lost oil revenue in the face of coalition air strikes.

The Al-Hashd al-Shaabi militia, a group of Iraqi Shi’a paramilitary forces, said it was still trying to verify reports of al-Baghdadi’s death, it was reported by Iraqi News.

In a statement, it said: ‘ISIS is working to hide its leader’s death due to the sizable amount of loss that has been inflicted upon it in the recent past.

‘Some Arab and foreign media indicated to the injury of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, while other media confirmed his death in the Syrian city of al-Raqqa.

‘The intelligence of al-Hashd al-Shaabi is working to verify this information.’

ISIS are waging a desperate last stand to hold the city of Fallujah and are losing ground around its other Iraqi stronghold of Mosul as the Iraqi army backed by U.S.-led air strikes dent their territory.

The number of foreign fighters joining ISIS in Iraq and Syria has decreased sharply in the past year to about 200 a month from between 1,500 and 2,000.

And U.S. Air Force Major General Peter Gersten said last month that the number of fighters defecting from ISIS was increasing as well, but he did not give a specific number.

But there have previously been reports that al-Baghdadi, who proclaimed himself caliph of all Muslims two years ago, has been killed or wounded, which turned out to be untrue.

The Abna24 website said al-Baghdadi had been killed on Sunday morning by an air strike in Syria.

However, there has been no confirmation of his death by the US or any other coalition powers, who have been targeting the terror group in Syria and Iraq.

A Pentagon spokesman told MailOnline they were not aware of any ‘high value targets’ having been killed….

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Filed Under: Featured, Islamic State (aka ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) Tagged With: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi


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Comments

  1. Phil Horaia says

    Jun 17, 2016 at 11:54 am

    You really know how to make a man laugh! Yes, he’s ‘died’ a number of times. I feel it’s unusual for thuggish outfits to survive long without its leader before it splinters; he’s probably still in the land of the living. We mustn’t get our hopes up that he’s finally dead. Even if he is, there will be more Al-Baghdadis to wreak Islam on decent souls.

    • Polk1970 says

      Jun 17, 2016 at 2:55 pm

      Wouldn’t Obama personally love to personally announce the the US has killed him.,if it was true.?

      • Mak says

        Jun 17, 2016 at 3:26 pm

        If he did wouldn’t Obama crown himself the new caliph? He seems dead set on leading the muslims against everyone else. I can close my eyes and picture it. Sigh.

        • Darius says

          Aug 6, 2016 at 4:58 pm

          Mark,since you’re obviously typing with your knuckles I’ll try to be generous: You’re such an imbecile that you give imbeciles a bad name. He killed Osama bin Laden–a rather un-muslin action. You know, It’s really racist xenophobes like you that contribute to the dumbassification of America. Thx.

      • Carolyne says

        Jun 18, 2016 at 10:49 am

        What makes you believe that Obama cares if anything is true or not?

    • Jerry says

      Jun 18, 2016 at 6:47 pm

      He died, and was resurrected a number of times
      as internally produced brownish sausage shaped
      malodorous waste product.

      When they finally get him, they should incinerate
      him, pack him in a coarse uncleaned segment of
      pig’s intestine together with copy of his unholy
      genocidal book, somewhere in the desert.

      They should also reserve a place next to him
      for the Somali impostor presently residing
      in Washington DC, who should be first
      arrested, charged with and tried and convicted
      of treason against the USA, and, hopefully
      appropriately sentenced.

      • Darius says

        Aug 6, 2016 at 5:00 pm

        Plz tell me you’ve not already reproduced and further contaminated the human genome with ignoramuses

  2. Don McKellar says

    Jun 17, 2016 at 11:55 am

    Well the difference is that when it comes to modern era dictator we are talking about the cult of personality based upon a real person. Their death really mattered because the movement was all about them. The Islamic State is just one of many tentacles of the black octopus of Islam, which gathers its evil powers by exploiting the dark side of human nature, and its great leader was a fictional character who died long, long ago and can’t be touched. Well, until some day when Mecca is nuked and then his “tomb” is touched and then Islam as we know it implodes.

  3. Christianblood says

    Jun 17, 2016 at 11:57 am

    A US-born Wahhabi muslim jihadist murdered 50 Americans and fifty US leaders call for an immediate bombing of Assad. Read more:
    https://www.rt.com/news/347062-state-department-dissent-syria-bombing/

    • Carolyne says

      Jun 18, 2016 at 10:51 am

      This really frightens me. Remember what happened with Hillary Clinton’s misadventure in Libya. ISIS now owns it. BTW, Why does Obama call it ISIL? I know what the acronym stands for, but is the “L” some kind of code to his co-religionists?

  4. Alexander the Grape says

    Jun 17, 2016 at 12:00 pm

    Erdogan will be rubbing his hands together with joyful anticipation for confirmation of the news of the death of al-Baghdadi. He sees himself as the rightful heir to the title of Caliph. Soon, he hopes, to be the Caliph of the United Islamic States of Europe. Ah, la wunderbar.

    • Christianblood says

      Jun 17, 2016 at 12:06 pm

      Alexander the Grape

      True. But also remember that Erdogan and his jihadistic, genocidal Turkish state is an ally of the US and Nato.

      • miriamrove says

        Jun 17, 2016 at 1:37 pm

        And Erdogan is destroying Turkey as well. I watched a report today that Turkey and its beaches are the 6th most visited sites in the world. The beaches are empty and the whole tourism industry is in shambles. M

        • Christianblood says

          Jun 17, 2016 at 6:33 pm

          mariam posted

          (…And Erdogan is destroying Turkey as well…)

          The sooner Erdogan destroys Turkey the better, Turkey is also on her way to becoming another failed state and the sooner it reaches there the better.

        • Christianblood says

          Jun 17, 2016 at 9:58 pm

          US effectively siding with Al-Qaeda in desire to get rid of Assad – former UK ambassador to Syria. Watch at 4:48 mark:

          https://www.rt.com/news/345636-us-siding-al-qaeda-ford/

    • blitz2b says

      Jun 17, 2016 at 1:57 pm

      I think our own ” caliph Obum” should be crowned Caliphah after the death of Al Baggi pants, since under his carless watch and utter reckless abandon, ISIS was conceived.

      He defends Islam and Muslims with s fervour unseen even in actual Muslim imams and political leaders.

      All his policies are geared towards appeasing the 1.6 billion Muslims while all other Americans are contemptuously thrown under the bus.

      Ironically the ignorant left is the perfect vehicle this con artist is using to advance Islam all over the west.

      Please vote Trump, and encourage and convince others to do so if American values and freedoms are too be preserved.

      Trump may be brash but at least he is a true patriot who will not be bought.

      • Carolyne says

        Jun 18, 2016 at 10:56 am

        Voting for Trump is our last chance to save ourselves. Hillary Clinton is responsible for the “Arab Spring” which gave much of the Middle East to the Muslim Brotherhood and she admits it was her idea to attack Libya which resulted in the death of four Americans, including an Ambassador, as well as handing it over to ISIS.

        “But at this point, what difference does it make?”

  5. Cecilia Ellis says

    Jun 17, 2016 at 12:06 pm

    Perhaps, like the Hidden Imam, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is sitting on former Iranian President Ahmadenijad’s right shoulder . . . whispering in his ear . . .

  6. Alexander the Grape says

    Jun 17, 2016 at 12:10 pm

    Christianblood. Did you notice in one of the news items on the call to bomb al-Assad, it says that not one of these 50 Americans, or maybe it is only 5, has proffered an answer to the obvious question: What will fill the vacuum if al-Assad is toppled? But the co-incidence of the two news items is really striking.

    • Christianblood says

      Jun 17, 2016 at 6:42 pm

      Alexander the Grape

      You are right. A muslim jihadist shot down and killed fifty unarmed American civilians and instead of banning muslims from entering America, watching and closing evil islamic mosques and climbing down on the tens of thousands of muslim fanatics that are living in the US, they want to bomb Assad who is a secular dictator that is protecting millions of Christian, Alawite and other minorities in Syria. It is totally an incomprehensible move and it won’t happen, heaven will not allow it because Syria is no Libya and they need to realize that.

  7. NERO says

    Jun 17, 2016 at 12:18 pm

    “kill the ideology”-until that is done there will be more deadly Baghdadis.Look at Nigeria!

  8. Alexander the Grape says

    Jun 17, 2016 at 12:40 pm

    Yes, Nero. Look at Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Israel, Lebanon, Egypt, Libya, Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, India, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Uganda, Nigeria, Chad, Niger, Ivory Coast, Congo, Yemen, Russia, China, and also in Australia, the United States of America, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, France, and Belgium and everywhere Islam is found.

    Islam should be banned world wide. It has never had a place in the civilized world, and it will never have.

    • Polk1970 says

      Jun 17, 2016 at 3:28 pm

      Speaking of the Phillpines, Abu Sayaf,/ISIS Filipino branch beheaded 2 Canadians this past week.

    • Christianblood says

      Jun 17, 2016 at 6:47 pm

      Alexander the Grape

      Very well-said! islam is destroying the whole world and the world should wake up and deal with it or tens of millions of people will die and become refugees in the near future.

  9. Ciudadano says

    Jun 17, 2016 at 1:14 pm

    al-Baghdadi is entitled to quote Mark Twain: “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated”

  10. Walter Sieruk says

    Jun 17, 2016 at 2:31 pm

    Be this fiendish and demonic head of ISIS, al Baghdadi who some say is the first Caliph of this Islamic”state ” is alive or not it still stands that this Islamic villain is only a stooge and fool used a a tool by someone else. As the following thus explains. About that brutal and deadly jihad entity ISIS. Most people know that the head and chief of that is a man who goes by the name of al Baghdadi By contrast, what few people seem to know is that al Baghdadi is just a figurehead and a puppet rulers of ISIS. That the actual and real head and chief of that heinous and dangerous jihad organization is someone else. Who that “someone else” has been exposed in the book entitled THE ISIS CRISIS by Charles Dyer. For on page 166 the author explains that “The ultimate commander of ISIS remains unseen by most of his followers, but he is not unknown. This commander is Satan himself… Satan moves across the earth ‘like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.’ [First Peter 5:8.] Therefore, the vicious jihadist thugs who compose ISIS are, in realty, vicious, malicious and deluded fools who are being use by Satan, as his stooges and tools, to inflict demonic murderous harm on humankind. So must so that those violent wicked and insanely deluded jihad savages who make up ISIS are like those callous characters described in the Bible in Ecclesiastes 9:3. That teaches “The hearts of men are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterwards they join the dead.” In addition, those malice-filled fiendish jihadists of ISIS are so very bloodthirstily, ruinous dangerous and murderous that they are similar to, in character, the hideous villains described in the Bible. Which reads “Their feet are swift to shed blood: ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.” Romans 3:15-17. [N.I.V.]

  11. Polk1970 says

    Jun 17, 2016 at 3:21 pm

    There is a vacant compound in Abbotabad, maintained by the Pakistani Military

    • Cecilia Ellis says

      Jun 17, 2016 at 3:29 pm

      Polk, that’s great! We already have the coordinates . . . for a hellfire missile or perhaps a pizza delivery . . . depending upon who’s in charge . . .?

  12. Senthil Kumar says

    Jun 17, 2016 at 5:29 pm

    It does not matter. People are lined up to take his place at any moment.

  13. Angemon says

    Jun 17, 2016 at 7:49 pm

    I said it shortly after the first report of Al-Baghdadi’s death: what if “caliph Al-Baghdadi” is merely a title and there have been several “caliph Al-Baghdadi” killed one after another? 😉

  14. duh_swami says

    Jun 18, 2016 at 8:11 am

    ‘The reports of my death have been largely exaggerated”…

    You can kill Abu, but you can’t kill Allah…The jihad will continue without him…

  15. Janeatte says

    Jun 18, 2016 at 10:35 am

    I think you should check with John Mac Can he always in contact with him he is his friend

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