Baghdad: ISIS Leader and the self declared Caliph of Islamic State, Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi was near fatally wounded in US led Air Strikes in March this year, according to several confirmed reports. He however survived the attack and is under the process of recovery, albeit a slower recovery and is no longer in operational control of the organisation.
Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi during a rare public appearance in July 2014
According to a report in The Guardian newspaper, “A source in Iraq with connections to the terror group revealed that Baghdadi suffered serious injuries during an attack by the US-led coalition in March. The source said Baghdadi’s wounds were at first life-threatening, but he has since made a slow recovery. He has not, however, resumed day-to-day control of the organisation”.
Guardian also quotes Hisham al-Hashimi, an Iraqi official who advises Baghdad on ISIS “Yes, he was wounded in al-Baaj near the village of Umm al-Rous on 18 March with a group that was with him.â€
In past there were several reports of Baghdadi getting wounded. Some sources say that he was near fatally wounded at least 4 times, but survived.
On 8 November 2014, there were unconfirmed reports of al-Baghdadi’s death after an airstrike in Mosul, while other reports said that he was only wounded.
On 13 November 2014, ISIS released an audiotaped message, claiming it to be in the voice of al-Baghdadi. In the 17-minute recording, released via social media, the speaker said that ISIL fighters would never cease fighting “even if only one soldier remains”.
On 20 January 2015, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that al-Baghdadi had been wounded in an airstrike in Al-Qa’im, an Iraqi border town held by ISIL, and as a result, withdrew to Syria