The ISIS leader was poisoned along with three of his commanders after all four consumed spiked meals in the Be'aaj District, southwest of Mosul in Iraq, according to Iraqi news agency WAA.
Al-Baghdadi, who is often credited with creating ISIS, has been rushed to "an unknown location under strict measures" along with his henchmen. The jihadi group is said to have arrested several suspects who it believes are undermining the self-proclaimed caliphate.
Al-Baghdadi, who is often credited with creating ISIS, has been rushed to "an unknown location under strict measures" along with his henchmen. The jihadi group is said to have arrested several suspects who it believes are undermining the self-proclaimed caliphate.
Al-Baghdadi is a powerful figure in the group and has evaded capture despite a rigorous US campaign offering a staggering US$ 10 million reward for information leading...
...to his capture or death. Earlier this year, he was reported to have been killed by US airstrikes targeting Raqqa, where he was believed to be living with US hostage Kayla Mueller – a 26-year-old aid worker al-Baghdadi kept locked up in a dungeon as a sex slave.
But, the reports of the ultra-Jihadi's death were inaccurate and the hunt for the ISIS mastermind continued. Last week, footage emerged of the terrorist issuing a last-ditch appeal to jihadis worldwide insisting they remain loyal to the group despite its loss of territory in Iraq and Syria. Al-Baghdadi said: "Our Muslim community is passing through a difficult time in its journey.
"This period has seen a massive change to its journey going all the way back through the history of the Caliphate.
"The breaking of the Sykes/Picko borders has allowed jihadists to begin appearing across the Islamic world and inside their own countries.
"Because of this everyone will be, and is, against us. The Mujaheddin are still in the Caliphate today, and those that are connected to it are still fighting for the Muslim Revolution."
Al-Baghdadi's poisoning comes as a fresh blow to ISIS, which is preparing to fight US troops in a showdown battle in Syria, which the terrorists believe will trigger the apocalypse. Turkish troops, backed by the US, are currently circling the tiny town of Dabiq in preparation for what ISIS has dubbed the "major apocalyptic showdown with the infidel".
(Express.co.uk)
