Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi: All You Need To Know About The Slain ISIS Leader

Baghdadi was killed, not far from the Turkish border in Idlib province, the final key but of territory under the control of the armed opposition fighting President Bashar al-Assad.

This file image made from video posted on a militant website April 29, 2019, purports to show the leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, being interviewed by his group's Al-Furqan media outlet. The IS erupted from the chaos of Syria and Iraq's conflicts and swiftly did what no Islamic militant group had done before, conquering a giant stretch of territory and declaring itself a "caliphate." U.S. officials said late Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019 that al-Baghdadi was the target of an American raid in Syria and may have died in an explosion.AP/PTI(AP10_27_2019_000090B)

New Delhi: Death of ISIS Chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi who blew himself by triggering his suicide vest in a dead end tunnel of his hideout compound in northwest Syria, is being hailed as a milestone in the fight against terror. Here are some things to know about the slain terrorist:

• Until his death in a US special operations raid in northwest Syria overnight, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was the world's most-wanted terrorist leaders since al-Qaida's Osama Bin Laden.
• Baghdadi was 48 years old at the time of his death
• The Islamic State head oversaw the murder of thousands of civilians in the name of religion.
• Baghdadi's reign of terror will be especially remembered for the bloodthirsty methods his acolytes used in their slick and professional propaganda videos of warfare, beheadings, torture and executions.
• Baghdadi, has been presumed killed on several occasions earlier.
• He appeared for the first time in public in Mosul in 2014, where he declared an Islamic "caliphate" in the swathes of territory IS then held in Syria and Iraq.
• Dressed in black robes, identifying himself with Muhammad's lineage, and with a long beard, the IS leader took on the megalomaniac nom de guerre Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi al-Husseini al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, with which he wanted to associate himself with the Quraysh, an Arab tribe associated with Muhammad, as well as Abu Bakr, the first caliph.
• IS has since released various audio messages that it claims are from Baghdadi -- most recently, one in September 2017 that appeared to make reference to news events that happened after Russia claimed he was dead.
• The second and last time he appeared on camera was in April this year. In the footage, surrounded by associates, Baghdadi acknowledged that the extremist group's last outpost in al-Baghouz, southeastern Syria, had fallen, effectively spelling the territorial end of the caliphate.
• Recorded voice messages were shared with a little more frequency. This August, the IS had released what it said was a new audio message from al-Baghdadi where he admitted that the IS groups were losing and that it was a test from Allah, saying they needed to stick together.
• Born in Samara, north of Baghdad in 1971, Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim al-Badri, Baghdadi's given name, studied Islamic theology at Baghdad University and became a preacher for several years before joining the armed resistance against the United States invasion under the umbrella of the Iraqi branch of al-Qaida.
• During that period, he was arrested and imprisoned for four years in the US-administered Bucca detention camp. He later rejoined the armed struggle.
• In 2010, by which time he had already adopted his more famous pseudonym, he ascended to the head of the terror group then known as the Islamic State of Iraq.
• Baghdadi was killed - not far from the Turkish border in Idlib province, the final key but of territory under the control of the armed opposition fighting President Bashar al-Assad.

(With inputs from IANS)