Baladi News
Iraqi intelligence officials insist Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, 47, the leader of the Islamic State Organisation is alive and in hiding.
“The latest information is that he is still in the Syrian desert, and could not enter into the Iraqi side because of concerns about evading the security measures on the borders,” Sabah al Namaan, Fox News cited Baghdad’s spokesperson for the counterterrorism agency as saying.
He stressed that finding the shadowy figure remains of critical importance due to the “symbolic significance” Baghdadi holds in governing the brutal terrorist outfit.
Namaan said efforts are still underway to track down Baghdadi, according to Fox News.
“Killing him or arresting him will reveal many secrets about how they have recruited tens of thousands of young men, and it will create a gap in the organization,” he continued. “Hopefully we will reach him very soon, especially now that ISIS has been defeated in its final place in Baghouz, Syria and they have lost all their land in Iraq. Now, we have a real opportunity to catch or kill him.”
Baghdadi -- whose death is constantly rumored but never proven -- is also believed to have survived a coup effort from within his own ranks in January, when several senior fighters attempted to oust him by leading him from his hideout into a firefight with foreign fighters. But he was reportedly whisked away by his security.
Source: Fox News.