ISIS leader killed: Who is Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

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If the information about the elimination of one of the most dangerous terrorists in the world turns out to be true, this will be a serious success for the much-criticized Western operation in Syria.

ISIS leader n. At least, Western publications write about this, citing some media outlets affiliated with the terrorist group. According to sketchy information, the terrorist leader was killed during an international coalition airstrike on Raqqa on the fifth day of Ramadan. At the moment, there has been no official confirmation of the death of the militant from the coalition forces. Moreover, one of the coalition generals said that he had seen reports of Baghdadi’s death, but so far no one can confirm this information.

The numerous “killings” of another dangerous terrorist, Osama bin Laden, are still fresh in memory. There have been attempts on his life many times, and journalists have repeatedly reported about the death of the al-Qaeda ideologist, but several times these reports turned out to be premature. The story with Baghdadi also has many contradictions. Earlier it was reported that he was wounded on the Iraqi-Syrian border. Then some sources claimed that al-Baghdadi was killed in Mosul.

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If the information about the elimination of one of the most dangerous terrorists in the world turns out to be true, this will be a serious success for the much-criticized Western operation in Syria. After all, the personality of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is the cornerstone of the shaky structure called ISIS. And it is not known what will happen to this self-proclaimed caliphate after his death.

Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali Muhammad al-Badri al-Samarrai was born in the vicinity of the city of Samarra (in Iraq) in 1971. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, al-Baghdadi's peers described him in his youth as "a modest, unimpressive, religious theologian, a man who shunned violence." For more than ten years, until 2004, he lived in a poor area on the western outskirts of Baghdad.

“He was quiet, shy and constantly spent time alone,” said al-Baghdadi’s classmate Ahmad Dabash, one of the founders and leaders of the Islamic Army of Iraq, to ​​The Telegraph. “I personally knew every leader of the rebel underground, but I did not know Baghdadi. He was of no interest - he used to say prayers in the mosque, but no one noticed him."

According to US and Iraqi intelligence analysts, al-Baghdadi has a doctorate in Islamic studies from a university in Baghdad. According to other information, he has a doctorate in education.

As al-Baghdadi's acquaintances say, the future leader of the Islamic State loved to play football. “He literally shone on the field, he was our Messi. He played better than anyone,” said a parishioner of the mosque in Mobchi, for whose national team the future Islamist leader played in his youth.

According to official data from the US Department of Defense, al-Baghdadi was detained in 2004 for preparing armed protests against the American contingent in the Arab Republic (a mid-level participant in an anti-American Sunni conspiracy). He was sent to concentration camp Bucca (20-26 thousand prisoners passed through this camp, was located near the city of Umm Qasr and was named after firefighter Ronald Bucca who died on September 11, 2001 in New York), and then was taken to a camp near Baghdad. At the end of 2004 he was released.

But, according to the recollections of the commander of Camp Bucca, US Army Colonel Kenneth King, he remembered this man well and is “99% sure” that Abu Bakr left them not in 2004, but right before the camp closed, at the end of the summer of 2009. He was sent by C-17 transport plane to a smaller camp near Baghdad and then released. Abu Bakr was remembered by the colonel for the fact that upon leaving the camp he told his guards: “See you in New York,” since he knew that they were from New York and belonged to the 306th Military Police Battalion, which was staffed primarily by former New York City firefighters and police officers.

In 2005, al-Baghdadi represented the al-Qaeda terrorist group in the city of al-Qaim in the western desert of Iraq on the border with Syria.

The cell led by al-Baghdadi was originally part of al-Qaeda, but was subsequently expelled due to conflict with the group's Syrian branch.

In 2013, US Senator John McCain met in the Syrian province of Idlib with leaders of the so-called moderate Syrian opposition. Al-Baghdadi was also among them, as captured in many photographs and videos. Neither McCain nor al-Baghdadi deny this information.

In June 2014, the group gained worldwide fame by taking control of large parts of northern Iraq, including the country's second-largest city Mosul, within a month. On June 29, the creation of a “caliphate” led by al-Baghdadi in the territories of Syria and Iraq under his control was proclaimed. Al-Baghdadi himself proclaimed himself “caliph” under the name Ibrahim, and the Syrian city of Raqqa was declared the capital of the “Islamic State”. Al-Baghdadi, among other things, at that time claimed to be a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad.

Photos from open sources

Al-Baghdadi's declaration of the creation of a "caliphate" was widely criticized and ridiculed by a number of Islamic theologians and leaders of Islamist organizations competing with ISIS.

On July 5, 2014, al-Baghdadi made his first public speech during Friday prayers at a Mosul mosque, recorded on video and posted online, in which he called on all Muslims in the world to submit to him and join the group's jihad.

Photo of al-Baghdadi taken in 2004 during his detention in the American filtration camp Camp Bucca in the vicinity of the Iraqi city of Umm Qasr Photo from open sources

After Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s speech in Iraqi Mosul, during which the leader of the Islamic State announced the creation of a “caliphate,” photographs of the head of the terrorist organization were scattered around the world. The British newspaper The Independent notes that there are only two photographs where the identity of al-Baghdadi is officially confirmed - one of them is in the possession of the Iraqi government, the other is in American military archives and was taken after the arrest of the militant in 2004. IN in social networks Many photographs appear that allegedly depict the leader of the Islamic State, but they are almost impossible to confirm, which does not allow us to finally remove the veil of secrecy from the image of the odious militant.

On March 18, 2015, al-Baghdadi was seriously wounded as a result of a strike by Western coalition forces on a convoy of three vehicles on the border of Iraq and Syria; reports also said he died in a hospital in the Syrian city of Raqqa. After this, IS militants swore allegiance to the new “caliph” Abdurrahman Mustafa Al Sheikhlar, who received the nickname Abu Alya al-Afri. According to a later report by The Guardian, al-Baghdadi survived but was paralyzed after being shot in the spine.

On December 7, Iranian media reported that the IS leader had moved from Turkey, where he was Lately, to Libya to avoid persecution by Iraqi intelligence.

Back in October 2011, the US State Department officially added al-Baghdadi to the list of particularly dangerous terrorists. Washington has announced a reward of $10 million for the head of the IS leader or for information leading to his capture or liquidation.

On December 9, 2014, al-Baghdadi was ranked second in Time magazine's "Person of the Year" list. The editors of the publication noted the record pace of expansion of the territory of the Islamic State - in two years, al-Baghdadi’s militants managed to capture significant territory in Syria and Iraq.

Interestingly, back in the spring of 2015, it was reported that the leaders of the Islamic State militants in the city of Mosul swore allegiance to the new “caliph” Abu Alya Al-Afri. Then rumors about Baghdadi’s death were refuted, but information about his paralysis appeared. Perhaps now Abdurrahman Mustafa Al Sheikhlar, nicknamed Abu Alya Al Afri, will become the new leader of the caliphate.

Al-Afri, originally from Taliafar, was a teacher by training, a physics teacher, also studied theology and worked as a driver in a small minibus. Already in the 90s, he became the first preacher of takfiri and jihadist ideology in Taliafar, which he preached secretly, and sometimes openly, in a large market mosque in Taliafar. In 2004, he fled his hometown, pursued by the American occupation authorities, and joined al-Qaeda. He was called the chairman of al-Qaeda's advisory council in Iraq. Like his predecessor, he was captured by the Americans, but after some time was released.

So far, there are only rumors about al-Baghdadi's successor.

Sergey Zviglyanich

Photo: Ropi / Zuma / Globallookpress.com

The future caliph Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim al-Badri was born in the Iraqi city of Samarra, north of Baghdad, in 1971. Power in the country then belonged to the pan-Arab secularist left-wing Baath party.

Ibrahim's father, Awwad, was actively involved in the religious life of the community and taught at the local mosque. It was there that his son took his first steps as a theologian: he gathered the neighborhood boys, and they read the Koran together.

The Baathists did not actively encourage the spread of religion, but they did not fight it either. Some of Ibrahim's relatives even joined the ranks of the ruling party. Two of the future caliph's uncles worked in President Saddam Hussein's intelligence services; one of his brothers was an officer in Saddam's army, and another brother died in the Iraq-Iran war. Ibrahim himself was too young at the beginning of the conflict to take part in it.

Since 1993, the Iraqi leader began a “return to faith campaign”: nightclubs were closed in the country, public consumption of alcohol was prohibited, Sharia law was introduced to a limited extent (for example, hands were cut off for theft).

When it's time to decide higher education, Ibrahim al-Badri tried to enter the Faculty of Law at the University of Baghdad, but his poor knowledge of English and unimportant grades let him down. As a result, he went to the Faculty of Theology, and then entered the University of Islamic Sciences, where he received a master's degree in qiraats (schools for public recitation of the Koran).

While studying for a master's degree, at the insistence of his uncle, Ibrahim joined the ranks of the Muslim Brotherhood. This supranational Islamist organization advocated the creation of religious Islamic states, but in most countries its followers chose cautious tactics and did not support armed struggle with the authorities. Al-Badri such ideas seemed too soft - he called their followers people of words, not deeds, and the future caliph quickly joined the most radical members of the organization.

After receiving his master's degree in 2000, al-Badri settled in a small apartment in a poor area of ​​Baghdad, next to a mosque. In four years, he managed to change two wives and become the father of six children.

In 2004, al-Badri was arrested by the Americans - he went to visit a friend who was wanted. The future caliph ended up in the Camp Bucca filtration camp, where the occupation administration kept suspicious Iraqis. They were not prohibited from performing religious rituals, and the future caliph skillfully took advantage of this: he gave lectures on religion, conducted Friday prayers and gave instructions to the captives in accordance with his interpretation of Islam.

Prisoners said that Camp Bucca had become a veritable academy for jihadism. “Train him, instill an ideology and show him the further path, so that at the time of liberation he becomes a blazing flame,” - this is how one of the former prisoners described the strategy of Islamic theologians inside the filtration camp in relation to each new arrival.

After his release, al-Badri contacted al-Qaeda in Iraq, who advised him to move to Damascus. In the Syrian capital, he had the opportunity, in addition to working for terrorists, to complete his dissertation. Then a conflict began in the ranks of the jihadists, which led to the transformation of the Iraqi branch of al-Qaeda into the brutal Islamic State of Iraq. Al-Badri was appointed head of the religious direction in the Iraqi “provinces” of the organization. The caliphate did not have any territory at that time, so Ibrahim was mainly involved in developing a propaganda strategy and making sure that the militants strictly followed religious instructions.

In March 2007, he returned to Baghdad, where he defended his dissertation and became a doctor of Koranic studies. His scientific success attracted the attention of the then leader of the Islamic State of Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, who made al-Badri head of the Sharia Committee - that is, responsible for all religious work of the terrorist organization.

In 2013, the group began participating in hostilities in Syria and changed its name to the “Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant” (ISIS), and after the blitzkrieg of the summer of 2014, it shortened it to “Islamic State.” At the same time, Awwad Ibrahim al-Badri declared himself caliph, finally turning into Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The American authorities are promising $10 million for the head of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi: on the State Department website rewardsforjustice he is called by the pseudonym Abu Dua. Despite the fact that al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri is valued at almost twice as much in monetary terms, after the death of Osama bin Laden, it is the self-proclaimed caliph and leader of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr, who is considered today “terrorist number one.”

Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri(Arabic, born July 28, 1971, near Samarra, Iraq), aka Abu Dua(Arabic) and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi(Arabic) - the leader of an international Islamist terrorist organization, known since 2003 under various names (Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Islamic State of Iraq, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIS, ISIS, Daesh, etc. .), later proclaimed “caliph” of the unrecognized “Islamic State” (or quasi-state), which controls part of the territory of Syria, Iraq and Libya.

The US State Department announced that it would pay $10 million for information that would lead to the arrest or death of this person (the Americans valued only al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri higher at $25 million).

Biography

Al-Baghdadi (real name Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali Muhammad al-Badri al-Samarrai, in Arabic) is believed to have been born near Samarra, in 1971.

In 2005, Abu Bakr was identified in a US intelligence report as an al-Qaeda appointee in the town of al-Qaim in Iraq's western desert bordering Syria.

The organization led by al-Baghdadi was initially (2004-2014) part of the international terrorist organization Al-Qaeda, but was expelled from it due to a conflict with another “branch” of Al-Qaeda in Syria.

According to official data from the US Department of Defense, Abu Bakr was detained and held as a suspect (a mid-level participant in an anti-American Sunni conspiracy) from February to December 2004 in the largest American camp in Iraq, Bucca (20-26 thousand prisoners passed through this camp, was located near the city of Umm Qasr and was named in honor of firefighter Ronald Bucca who died on September 11, 2001 in New York). But, according to the memoirs of the commander of the Bucca camp, US Army Colonel Kenneth King, he remembered this man well and is “99% sure” that Abu Bakr left them not in 2004, but right before the camp was closed, at the end of the summer of 2009 He was flown by C-17 transport plane to a smaller camp near Baghdad and then released. Abu Bakr was remembered by the colonel for the fact that upon departure from the camp he told his guards: “See you in New York,” since he knew that they were from New York and belonged to the 306th Military Police Battalion, in which they mainly served former New York City firefighters and police officers.

In interviews with The Daily Telegraph, al-Baghdadi's contemporaries described him in his youth as a modest, unimpressive, religious theologian who shunned violence. For more than a decade, until 2004, he lived in a room attached to a small local mosque in Tobchi, a poor neighborhood on the western outskirts of Baghdad populated by both Shiites and Sunnis.

In June 2014, the group gained worldwide notoriety by taking control of large parts of northern Iraq within a month (with the support of other Sunni anti-government groups), including Iraq's second largest city, Mosul. On June 29, the creation of a “caliphate” led by al-Baghdadi in the ISIS-controlled territories of Syria and Iraq was proclaimed. Al-Baghdadi himself was proclaimed “caliph” under the name Ibrahim, and the capital of the “Islamic State” was declared the city of Raqqa. Also claims to be a descendant of the prophet Muhammad with the name Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi al-Husseini al-Qurashi ().

On July 5, 2014, al-Baghdadi made his first public speech during Friday prayers at a Mosul mosque, recorded on video and posted online, in which he called on all Muslims in the world to submit to him and join the group's jihad. An unrecognized state lays claim to religious and political power over all areas where Muslims live, including the territories of Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Kuwait, Lebanon, Turkey and Russia.

In 2014, US and Iraqi intelligence analysts said al-Baghdadi had a doctorate in Islamic studies from a university in Baghdad. According to a biography circulated on online jihadist forums, he has received bachelor's, master's and PhD degrees in Islamic studies from the Islamic University of Baghdad since July 2013. Another report says he received a doctorate in education from Baghdad University.

Al-Baghdadi's declaration of the creation of a "caliphate" was widely criticized and ridiculed by a number of theologians and leaders of Islamist organizations competing with ISIS.

Reports of injuries and deaths

On the night of February 26, 2015, the Al-Arabiya channel (Abu Dhabi) reported that as a result of airstrikes by the pro-Western coalition in the Iraqi Al-Qaim region, dozens of terrorists were killed, including major warlords and leaders of the Islamic State. Among those killed or wounded may be the “Emir of the Islamic State” Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, but the latter has not been confirmed.

On March 18, 2015, Abu Bakr was seriously wounded as a result of a strike by pro-Western coalition forces on a convoy of three vehicles on the border of Iraq and Syria; reports also said he died in a hospital in the Syrian city of Raqqa. After this, ISIS militants swore allegiance to the new “caliph” Abdurrahman Mustafa Al Sheikhlar, who received the nickname Abu Alya al-Afri. According to a later report by The Guardian, Abu Bakr survived, but was paralyzed as a result of a wound to the spine. In December 2015, reports emerged that the ISIS leader secretly moved to Libya after receiving treatment in Turkey.

On June 14, 2016, information appeared in the media that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in an airstrike by Western coalition forces in the vicinity of the city of Raqqa. According to reports, the seriously wounded al-Baghdadi was transported to the city center, occupied by terrorists, where he soon died. On the same day, representatives of the US-led coalition forces said that they did not have information that could confirm these reports. The US Department of Defense, in turn, also denied this information.

On October 3, 2016, the media reported that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was poisoned along with three other high-ranking militants.

16 December 2014, 17:37 Authors: Translation: Arseny Varshavsky, Dima Smirnov, based on materials from Newsweek

​Newsweek studied the fate of world terrorist No. 1. Read our translation.

On those rare occasions when ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi appeared in public, his entourage resembled something between a president and a thieves' authority. "When he came in, mobile connection disappeared,” says a 29-year-old resident of Syria - he asked to be mentioned in an interview only as Abu Ali - the man recalls that the only case when al-Baghdadi entered the mosque. “Armed guards have cordoned off the area. The women were sent upstairs to the women's prayer service. Everyone was warned not to take photographs or film anything. A terribly nervous atmosphere."

“What made it (the atmosphere more nervous) was when Baghdadi finally appeared, dressed in black from head to toe... The security shouted: “Allahu Akbar! Allah Akbar!" Everyone became even more scared,” says Ali. “Then the guards forced us to swear allegiance to him. Even after Baghdadi left, none of us were allowed to leave the mosque for the next half hour.”

In his hometown Samarra, which lies in the Sunni Triangle north of Baghdad, is remembered differently by al-Baghdadi (real name Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri). In his hometown he was considered “a very quiet person,” says former neighbor Tariq Hamid. “He was peaceful. He didn't like talking for a long time."

Friends of the leader of ISIS, whose caliphate now controls parts of Iraq and Syria, say al-Baghdadi grew up diligent, pious and calm. He was an introvert without many friends.

Hamid remembers him as a boy on a bicycle, wearing the usual Iraqi men's clothing (dijdasha), with a small white headdress on his head. “He always had religious or other books in the trunk of his bicycle, and I never saw him in trousers or a shirt, unlike most of the guys in Samarra... Thin beard; and he never hung out in a cafe. He had only a narrow circle of acquaintances from the mosque."

It is believed that Abu Bakr was born in 1971 in Samarra. He grew up in Al-Jibria, a lower middle class area that was under the control of the Albu Badri and Albu Baz tribes. The area was also bombed by the US following the 2003 invasion in an attempt to root out insurgents and terrorist cells.

Al-Baghdadi's family was not rich, but two of his uncles worked in Saddam Hussein's security detail. This meant some kind of status and connections, which gave a certain respect or even fear in society. “He was from a poor but intelligent family,” recalls Hashem, a translator who knew his family. “He was very reserved...he went to the mosque, studied, read books, and that’s it.”

Al-Baghdadi grew up just a mile from the 10th-century shrine of Imam Hassan al-Shakri, one of the most sacred sites for Shiites and also an important monument for Sunnis in Samarra. If ISIS sources are to be believed, faith played a big role in al-Baghdadi's life. Another Samarra resident, Yessir Fahmy, says that al-Baghdadi spent much of his childhood in religious studies: “Ibrahim, like most of his family, was a devout Muslim.”

But London-based Iraqi analyst with the Iraq Institute of Economic Reform, Sajjad Jiyad, says he has not seen any conclusive evidence of his religious fervor. "I would be surprised if he was a religious man; most Iraqis who became jihadists were secular Ba'athists before 2003," Jiyad explains.

In addition to religion, as his neighbors say, al-Baghdadi loved sports, mainly football, which he played in the yard near his house. “He rarely lost his temper during a match, even if you hit him or got angry,” recalls Hamid. "He was a great defender."

ISIS websites indicate that in the past, al-Baghdadi studied the Quran in the mosques of Samarra and Hadit - the traditions, actions and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad. One neighbor says al-Baghdadi was looked after by two prominent clerics: Sheikh Subni al-Saarai and Sheikh Adnan al-Amin.

There is controversy over al-Baghdadi's work as a cleric. Some sources say that he preached in a mosque in Samarra, others in Baghdad. But Jiyad claims that this information is highly dubious, and ISIS is creating it for the image of al-Baghdadi.

Most believe that after high school, like most young men during Saddam's reign, he would have served in the Iraqi Army. During this time, he could be taught the basics of military tactics and proper handling of weapons.

At the age of 18, al-Baghdadi traveled to Baghdad for the first time to study. The depth of his knowledge is also a matter of debate. Some, like Hamid, believe that he achieved the degree of professor in religious sciences. It was not possible to clarify this information with family members. “Most of the relatives left Samarra, afraid of being associated with him,” says Fahmy. “Ibrahim left in 2003 to study in Baghdad. His nephew was arrested last year by Iraqi law enforcement. When the last members of his family went to negotiate his release in Baghdad, they were also arrested.”

As far as Fahmy knows, al-Baghdadi has not been in Samarra since 2003.

Prisoners pray at the American prison camp Camp Bucca, Iraq.

LinkedInfor terrorists

The origins of al-Baghdadi's brutal behavior are the bloodshed that began after the US invasion of Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein. American troops entered central Baghdad on April 9, 2003. Soon after, the country fell into anarchy. Saddam and his supporters immediately fled - some headed to villages near the Sunni Triangle, others moved to Syria. Sunni insurgents who remained in Iraq began to attack American military bases.

It is believed that al-Baghdadi helped create the terrorist group Jaish Ahl al Sunna wal Jama'a. In 2004 or 2005 - the exact year is unknown, as is all information about al-Baghdadi - he was captured by American troops, presumably during a large-scale manhunt to capture an associate of the Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda's Iraqi cell who was responsible for numerous bombings and deaths, was killed by US troops in 2006.

After his arrest, al-Baghdadi was imprisoned at Camp Bucca prison in northern Iraq, near the city of Umm Qasr, where former Abu Ghraib prisoners were also held. Al-Baghdadi was listed as a “civilian internee,” meaning he had ties to the terrorist group but was not convicted of committing terrorist acts.

It is unknown exactly how long al-Baghdadi spent at Camp Bucca. Some US military leaders who worked at the prison recall that al-Baghdadi was there between 2006 and 2007. Others say he was in prison from 2006-2009. Syrian activist Abu Ibrahim al-Raqqawi says al-Baghdadi was imprisoned between January 2004 and December 2006. Middle East Forum researcher Aymen Jawad al-Tamimi says because al-Baghdadi was involved in terrorist groups in 2005, he should were released at the end of 2004.

Whether he sat for a year or two, al-Baghdadi made good use of that time. At the time, Camp Bucca was a summer camp for aspiring terrorists. While under the supervision of American guards, the prisoners interacted with each other, exchanged information and combat tactics, and made important contacts for future operations. They drew inspiration from the torture at Abu Ghraib prison, the success of al-Zarqawi and divisions within the Sunnis. Historian Jeremy Suri has described Camp Bucca as a "virtual university for terrorists."

“Camp Bucca was a place where many jihadists met each other, and many former Baathists became radicalized and associated with Islamist groups,” writes Aaron Land, editor of the SyrianCrisis website. “So many ISIS leaders have passed through this prison.”

According to Jiyad, it is unlikely that al-Baghdidi was actively involved in insurgency before the US invasion of Iraq, and Camp Bucca was his starting point. "A rebel career must have been a good opportunity for him," he says. One of the people al-Baghdadi met at Camp Bucca was Taha Sobhi Falaha, also known as Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, an ISIS spokesman.

After his release from Camp Bucca, al-Baghdadi continued his insurgency. In 2006, an umbrella organization of terrorist groups including al-Qaeda formed the Islamic State in Iraq. In May 2010, he was appointed leader of this organization.

From the very beginning, IS had broad ambitions and its agenda was different from that of al-Qaeda. IS has abandoned the use of the al-Qaeda flag, choosing a different one.

According to the news resource al-Monitor, the split occurred as a result of gradually growing disagreements between al-Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan, as well as the search for other sources of funding for the organization. “Then, in mid-2013, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi announced the creation of the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (now known as ISIS) and refused to carry out orders from Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of al-Qaeda. Al-Zawahiri wanted ISIS to operate only in Iraq and for Jabat al-Nusra to be al-Qaeda's representative in Syria."

A former ISIS member who defected from the group and identified himself as "Hussein" says he was with al-Baghdadi during the breakdown in relations between him and the al-Nursa organization, which is based in Syria and collaborates with al-Qaeda. He recalls the paranoia and mistrust that reigned during their meetings, which took place somewhere on the border between Syria and Turkey. "Al-Baghdadi met them in a trailer near the Turkish border," he says. “He only introduced himself to high-ranking executives. He didn't introduce himself to junior bosses. But what’s interesting is that when he was in a large group, no one could say with certainty that he was the one in the room. Al-Baghdadi wanted to confuse others."

Al-Baghdadi relied heavily on the advice of the late Haji Bakr, the top ISIS leader and former Iraqi army officer who was killed in January 2014, Hussein said. Hussein believes his death was a big blow to al-Baghdadi: “Haji Bakr improved al-Baghdadi's image - he was preparing him for prominent membership in ISIS. But to be honest, the real leader who ruled in the shadows was Haji Bakr.” Al-Baghdadi still relies on dedicated military experts. He met many of them at Cap Bucca.

Quiet paranoid

Little is known about al-Baghdadi's personal life, other than that he is "violent in relationships and quiet in life," Jiyad says. “His behavior and activities are explained by paranoia.”

Most mentions of al-Baghdadi on social media do not provide complete information about him, and they rarely contain information about his activities and personality. ISIS-affiliated social media largely references al-Baghdadi when urging new users to pledge allegiance to the caliph.

Al-Baghdadi moves frequently, crossing the poorly guarded border between Iraq and Syria, and may live either in or near Raqqa. Jiyad says that before he fled to Syria with ISIS around 2010, al-Baghdadi likely lived in Baghdad and Mosul. “Very few people met him in those days, and those who saw him wore a mask,” says Jiyad. “His predecessors and peers were killed as a result of denunciations and actions of the special services. However, I also think that between 2010 and 2014 he managed to improve his religious knowledge and was able to create a mystical image around himself.”

Lebanese officials said they arrested al-Baghdadi's daughter and ex-wife in early December, although the exact relationship with him remains unclear. The Iraqi Interior Ministry, citing a source from its department's intelligence group, states that al-Baghdadi has two wives - Asma Fawzi Mohammad al-Dulaimi and Israa Rajab Mahal al-Kwasi.

In public, al-Baghdadi wears a scarf over his face and does not allow photographs or videos of him to be circulated, unlike leaders of other terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda. In old photographs taken in prison in 2004, he looks like "an ambitious terrorist, not a caliph."

Jiyad, who transcribed al-Baghdadi's audio recordings, says they provide insight into his views on, for example, Jabat al-Nursa and al-Qaeda. “He positions himself as the most important and treats organizations outside Iraq with a degree of contempt.”

Al-Baghdadi appears to relish his role as "the world's top terrorist, the heir to Osama bin Laden," Jiyad says.

“If we discard all mysticism and greatness, the “caliph” turns into ordinary person, who took advantage of his opportunity,” notes Jiyad. “He is no different from the hundreds of other Iraqis who tried to destroy the new Iraq. He could become an unknown terrorist or a brutal criminal. And now he is in the center of world attention.”

The actions of the ISIS group amaze the imagination with their cruelty and barbarity. Its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed himself “caliph”, but with much greater right he can claim another title - "Terrorist No. 1" Repeatedly in the last couple of years, reports about the destruction of the militant leader have appeared in the media, but each time they have not been confirmed. Al-Baghdadi tried to take increased precautions and did not seek publicity. His runaway wives gave interviews much more often. However, this time in bloody biography the organizer of “jihad” can be put to death. At first, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the destruction of al-Baghdadi could be said “with a high degree of probability.” And now the Iraqi TV channel Al-Sumaria, citing a source in the Islamic State*, confirmed the death of al-Baghdadi.

The path from football player to terrorist

The future militant leader Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim al-Badri (this is the real name of al-Baghdadi) was born in 1971 in the vicinity of Samarra in Iraq. His biography could well have turned out differently. The boy belonged to the Sunni minority, his relatives served in the security forces under Saddam Hussein, and his father taught in a mosque.

Al-Baghdadi himself was planning to become a lawyer and tried to enter the University of Baghdad, but was unsuccessful. Then he decided to give preference to religious education and became a master in qiraat (reading the Koran for ritual purposes) at the University of Islamic Sciences. After this, the future al-Baghdadi settled near the mosque and taught children to read the Koran. Then he took up a hobby - football. According to the stories of friends, the future terrorist played quite well.

In 2003, the precarious religious balance in Iraq was disrupted by outside interference. American troops entered the country. They decided to overthrow Saddam Hussein, accusing him of creating and possessing “weapons of mass destruction.”

The new pro-American local authorities decided to “democratically” rely on the majority of the population - Shiite Muslims. As a result, the popularity of radical ideas among the Sunni minority grew sharply, and the terrorist underground began to be massively replenished by Sunni security officials expelled from government service.

“See you in New York, guys!”

Al-Baghdadi also joined the Iraqi cell of the international terrorist organization Al-Qaeda*.

There he was responsible for religious direction and recruitment of militants. In 2005, the Americans arrested the “political leader” of the terrorists, but then nothing spoke about his future status. Among the other inhabitants of the Camp Bucca filtration camp, al-Baghdadi was considered neither the most dangerous nor the most powerful. He himself leaned more heavily on religion. True, former prisoners later recalled that in the camp, preachers actively instilled radical ideas under the very noses of their guards. The camp administration staff themselves had rather pleasant memories of their farewell to al-Baghdadi. As he left Camp Bucca he said:

"Well guys, see you in New York."

Then no one took this phrase as an aggressive hint or threat.

Camp Bucca

And in 2010, al-Baghdadi headed terrorist organization"Islamic State of Iraq" * after the murder of its former leader. Soon after the outbreak of hostilities in Syria, the organization's ambitions spread to the neighboring country. This is how the “Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant” * or ISIS * appeared. The jihadists first gained a foothold in Syria, and in 2014 they captured large parts of northern Iraq. Al-Baghdadi proclaimed a “caliphate” in the territories under his control, and demanded that he himself be called “caliph” from now on.

Photo:livejournal. com

Sexual pleasures of the “true leader”

The militant leader became famous not only for his unprecedented cruelty, but also for his “lovingness.” Even during his law-abiding youth under Saddam Hussein, he was married at least twice and managed to have six children. Since then, stories about his new wives and sex slaves have repeatedly appeared in the media. Moreover, a new portion of revelations usually appeared after the next passion managed to escape. The German Diane Kruger was responsible in the “caliphate” for the behavior of all persons of the weaker sex, and she also headed the Sharia court for women’s affairs. In particular, she made sure that all residents of the controlled territories behaved quite modestly. Either the militants were disappointed in Diana’s abilities on the “moral” front, or something else went wrong, but in 2016 Diana escaped.

Another one also became famous ex-wife al-Baghdadi Saja ad-Duleimi. At the height of her husband’s bloody actions, she and her children went to his enemies in Europe. Hoping to get a permanent home.

“I want to live in one of the European, not Arab countries. I want my children to live and get an education. Even if the mother was married to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a terrorist... Is the child really to blame for this?” - the woman told Swedish journalists.

Al-Baghdadi’s personal life was not limited to communicating with his official wives. The militants have organized entire harems in which they keep sex slaves. The majority of them are girls, including minors, from families of religious minorities. In particular, the Yezidi Kurds. One of them, 16-year-old Zeinat, spoke about how she was forced to spend more than one night with al-Baghdadi.

People were killed and tortured in front of the girls. And when Zeinat tried to escape, she herself was almost killed.

“They beat us all, they left no living space for us. We were almost black from bruises. They beat us with everything they could get their hands on: wires, belts, wooden sticks,” the captive recalled.

Al-Baghdadi, according to her, took a personal part in the massacre. Yazidis, according to jihadists, are “devil worshipers” and do not deserve pity.

6 al-Baghdadi deaths

The leader of ISIS has long been the main target of the intelligence services and armed groups of many countries taking part in the conflict in Iraq and Syria. The Americans first reported about his murder back in 2005, but subsequently the information was not confirmed. The next time the Arab media announced the possible destruction of al-Baghdadi, this happened in February 2015. A month later, representatives of the pro-Western coalition “killed” him again, and the journalists even managed to “transfer” power to Abdurrahman’s successor, Mustafa Al Sheikhlar. However, soon information appeared that the head of ISIS* was only wounded.

In 2016, al-Baghdadi was “killed” a couple more times. First as a result of an airstrike by the Western coalition, then through poisoning.

In the spring of 2017, the command Russian group troops in Syria received information that on May 28, militant leaders were going to hold a meeting on the outskirts of Raqqa. There it was planned to discuss a plan for the withdrawal of jihadists from the surrounded city. The drones confirmed the intelligence data, and SU-35 and SU-34 planes destroyed the terrorists' command post. As a result, senior militant leaders, 30 field commanders and about 300 bodyguards were killed.

Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Oleg Syromolotov emphasized then that information about the death of al-Baghdadi is being verified. Its liquidation, according to the diplomat, will undoubtedly “introduce fear and panic” into the ranks of the militants.

“Based on the experience of defeating the terrorist underground in the North Caucasus, I can say that if this information is confirmed, then it will be possible to state another major success of the Russian Aerospace Forces in the fight against international terrorism,” Syromolotov said.

And now, the information seems to have really been confirmed. If we draw a parallel with the same Al-Qaeda*, then after the death of Osama bin Laden the activity of this terrorist group really began to decline. But even then, there were dozens of diverse and contradictory rumors, gossip, myths, speculation, rumors and versions that the “elusive” Osama was actually alive and was only hiding for the time being... So, even though the “immortal” al-Baghdadi is dead, but terrorists, like a flag, will probably wave his name for a long time to serve their interests.

* An extremist organization banned in Russia.

Alexander Sablin