Baladi News
A senior Iraqi military official revealed that US Special Forces are searching for the chief of the Islamic State militant group in Iraq.
The team tasked with locating IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is the same previously assigned to locate and eliminate former Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, northeastern Pakistan, the Iraqi security expert, Ahmad al-Hamdani, said.
The US team, accompanied by an armed unit of the Syrian Democratic Forces, is settling the IS leader within an area of 10km in the Deir az-Zour province, the source said.
"The information we have is that the US military wants al-Baghdadi alive, which may explain the entry of US special forces into Syrian areas that can be considered military zones, as well as the delay in resolving the entry of Kurdish militias to the remaining villages and small Syrian towns,” al-Hamdani said.
Commenting on Washington's eagerness to arrest al-Baghdadi alive, the official said, "It may have something to do with the current situation of US President Donald Trump and his need for a positive event in his favour in the US,” he suggested, noting it may also be linked to the need to question and interrogate the militant leader.
The official confirmed the mission to locate Baghdadi is being led by the United States, “so talk about the role of Russian or Turkish involvement is not true,” he added.
The United States heads a military coalition striving to drive the Islamic State out of Iraq and Syria, from where the jihadist group has launched numerous attacks abroad, mostly in Europe, in recent years.
Baghdadi has been pronounced dead on several occasions, but an Iraqi intelligence official said in May that he remains alive in Syrian territory by the Iraqi border.
Baghdadi was said to move around with only a small group of followers.
Originally from Iraq, Baghdadi has been dubbed the "most wanted man on the planet" and the United States is offering a $25 million reward for his capture.
One of his sons was killed in July after he reportedly carried out a suicide attack against regime troops in rural Syria, IS announced.
In August, Baghdadi called on Muslims to wage "jihad" in a purported new audio recording released on the occasion of Eid al-Adha.
"Those who forget their religion, patience, jihad against their enemies, and their certainty in the creator's promise lose and are disgraced," the leader said.
"But when they hold on to it, they are mighty and victorious, even if after a certain time."
Source: The New Arab.