home

Reports That ISIS Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Severely Injured

By Jeralyn, Section War In Iraq
Posted on Sat Jul 05, 2014 at 08:27:00 AM EST
Tags: ISIS, Abu Bakr, al-Baghdadi (all tags)
Share This: Digg! StumbleUpon del.icio.us reddit reddit

Reports are coming out of Iraq that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Caliph of the new Islamic State, has been severely injured by Iraqi forces in a battle near Qaim in Anbar. There are also reports he has been taken to Syria. Al Sumaria news says an Iraqi Parliament official confirmed this. Here's a photo allegedly of the injured al-Baghdadi.

But there are also reports this happened Wednesday, and ISIS tweets say al-Baghdadi led the prayers at a mosque in Mosul Friday. Supposedly, ISIS cut off all cell phone activity in the area so no one could disclose his presence. [Added: Here's a video of al-Baghdadi leading the prayers in Mosul...after the Iraqis claim he was injured in the blast.]

Nothing is confirmed at this hour, and while there are many reports about this on Twitter and in Middle Eastern media, none seem to be from ISIS supporters.

If he does die, who will take his place? [More...]

The Daily Star in Lebanon reported a helicopter struck a house in Qaim killing several militants who were holding a meeting inside. Was one of them al-Baghdadi?
Al-Nuaman also says a helicopter gunship hit a house in the town of Qaim near the Syrian border where a gathering of the jihadi group's local leaders was taking place. He says there were several casualties, but did not have a concrete figure. An official in the Anbar province operational command confirmed the Qaim airstrike.
I think it's curious that the ISIS tweeters are not addressing this, even though several have been online and posting within the past few hours. Are they waiting for instructions from IS Central on how to respond? Is there an IS Central without al-Baghdadi?

Here's a screengrab of al-Baghdadi leading the prayers at the Mosul mosque yesterday.

< 2013 Wiretap Report Released | ISIS Releases Glossy New Recruitment Magazine >

  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


    • Display: Sort:
    Reports That ISIS Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Severely Injured | 30 comments (30 topical)

    Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment

    Well, someone will take his (none / 0) (#1)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Jul 05, 2014 at 09:50:54 AM EST
    place and then he'll have to be killed.

    That should be a blow to the ISIS initiative (none / 0) (#2)
    by Jack203 on Sat Jul 05, 2014 at 01:43:12 PM EST
    I don't see how the Sunni areas will be able to be retaken by the Iraqi Shiite government though .  Not by force anyway.  Political compromise or if no compromise they will be controlled by Sunni tribal leaders.

    For all the armchair generals clamoring and whining for Obama to "do something". He has been handling this correctly.

    Repeat after me neocons.  The less we are involved in Sunni-Shiite conflict...the better.  We could be  one side one week, another side the next week, and the only thing we'll be making sure is that both sides despise us as much as they hate each other.

    Repeat after me (none / 0) (#3)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Jul 05, 2014 at 01:45:56 PM EST
    Al Qaeda is Sunni.

    Parent
    And (5.00 / 0) (#6)
    by Politalkix on Sat Jul 05, 2014 at 02:14:05 PM EST
    the Ayatollahs in Iran and the Alawites in Syria and Hezbollah in Syria and Lebanon are Shias.

    Al Qaeda is Sunni but so are the royal families in various countries (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, etc).

    So who are you proposing we fight for and against?
    It is best to not get involved in another dumb war.

    President Reagan made a dumb mistake in the 1980s. He got involved in Lebanon's