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)