Phantomboxe Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 SULAIMANIA, Iraq, July 17 (Reuters) - A top Kurdish counter-terrorism official said on Monday he was 99 percent sure that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was alive and located south of the Syrian city of Raqqa, despite reports that he had been killed. "Baghdadi is definitely alive. He is not dead. We have information that he is alive. We believe 99 percent he is alive," Lahur Talabany told Reuters in an interview. "Don't forget his roots go back to al Qaeda days in Iraq. He was hiding from security services. He knows what he is doing." The secretive Islamic State leader has frequently been reported killed or wounded since he climbed up to the pulpit of a mosque in Mosul in 2014 and declared a caliphate with himself the leader of all Muslims. After leading his fighters on a sweep through northern Iraq, Baghdadi attempted to create a self-sustaining modern-day caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria. He is now a man on the run, but still a cunning foe, said Talabany, who as part of the international coalition against Islamic State has been at the forefront of efforts to track Baghdadi down. "He is not an easy figure. He has years of experience in hiding and getting away from the security services," Talabany said. "The territory they control right now, still to this day, is very tough territory. It is still not the end of the game for ISIL. Even though they have lost almost all of Mosul and they are getting ready to lose Raqqa as well." Iraqi security forces have ended three years of Islamic State rule in the Iraqi city of Mosul, and the group is under growing pressure in Raqqa - former strongholds in the militants' crumbling caliphate. Talabany said Islamic State was now shifting tactics despite low morale and it would take three or four years to eliminate the group as it takes to the mountains and deserts to stage hit and run attacks and unleash suicide bombers. PRIMED FOR A NEW BATTLE "They are getting ready for a different fight I think. We have a lot tougher days ahead of us than people think. "Al Qaeda on steroids," said Talabany. "We saw why they were smarter. Al Qaeda never controlled any territory. They will be smarter." Numerous reports suggesting that Baghdadi had been killed have raised questions about who might replace him as head of a diverse group comprised of Iraqis and other Arabs as well as hardcore foreign fighters. Iraqi intelligence officers who served under Saddam Hussein have been described as the military strategists instrumental in creating an Islamic State reign of terror. Talabany said it was hard to know which top Baghdadi aides were alive or dead, but he believes most of the leadership is in Syria, south of Raqqa. A younger generation of Saddam's former allies were expected to take key positions. "These are the people in line," he said. "The younger generation is always more dangerous." Security services face the daunting challenge of breaking up sleeper cells, typically made up of two facilitators and two operators. "You don't need a lot of guys to set a bomb off. We continue to bust these sleeper cells," said Talabany. "Everybody we capture was getting ready to set up to carry out attacks in the region." Source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pc71520 Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 17 hours ago, Phantomboxe said: Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi alive I'm not surprised at all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantomboxe Posted July 18, 2017 Author Share Posted July 18, 2017 27 minutes ago, pc71520 said: I'm not surprised at all... there maybe an ISIS version 2.0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pc71520 Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 2 hours ago, Phantomboxe said: there maybe an ISIS version 2.0 Simply, ISIS has been supported (financially and not only that...) by various Arab and Western States. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dufus Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 no comment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantomboxe Posted July 18, 2017 Author Share Posted July 18, 2017 2 hours ago, pc71520 said: Simply, ISIS has been supported (financially and not only that...) by various Arab and Western States. ISIS is prevailing the entire world, look what happen to the rebels in the Philippines, they are funded by Al qaeda in the year 90's and they established a base in my country down south. most of them went to middle east to study Islam and guess what they found there? I dont know what they brought back but every year they decapitate innocent people. many foreigner ISIS fighters got killed all of them are mercenaries. I wonder which country is the next target it could be Russia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dufus Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 21 minutes ago, Phantomboxe said: it could be Russia. that why they smash them in syria with iran to stop mission creep chinese bankrolling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salafi Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 On 18/07/2017 at 4:52 PM, dufus said: that why they smash them in syria with iran to stop mission creep chinese bankrolling Iran, the ally of Russia, is a jihadist state. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dufus Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 i like iran Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sylence Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 8 hours ago, Salafi said: Iran, the ally of Russia, is a jihadist state. just like the rest of your government you're nothing but a useless liar. keep bullshitting nobody cares. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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