The mystery of the fate of the IS terrorist leader

As US-backed forces claim to have successfully driven IS out of Raqqa, the terrorist group's self-proclaimed capital in Syria, the fate of its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi remains a mystery.

Although the US State Department has put a $25 million bounty on Baghdadi's head, no individual or organization has been able to track him down.

IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Baghdadi first publicly announced himself as the leader of IS (the self-proclaimed Islamic State) in 2014, after the group had seized territory in Iraq. Shortly after, the first and only image of Baghdadi was of him leading prayers at the Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul. IS later destroyed the historic shrine.

In early November 2016, IS released an audio recording of Baghdadi speaking ahead of the battle for Mosul. In it, he addressed his fellow jihadists and urged them to “hold their territory with honor, which is a thousand times better than retreating in disgrace.”

In June, Russia’s defense minister said Baghdadi may have been killed in a May 28 airstrike in Syria, but the U.S. military has expressed skepticism.

Officials in Washington told CNN that if Baghdadi were dead, US intelligence would have seen more comments on social media and communications accounts. However, they have not seen any communication about the terrorist leader's death.

“I really don’t know where he is,” Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend told reporters on August 31 at his final news conference as the top US commander in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. He also said he had seen no conclusive evidence that Baghdadi was dead. “So I believe he’s alive.”

A month later, General Townsend's suspicions were reinforced after a 45-minute audiotape emerged in which the IS leader mocked the US, called on jihadists to fight the Syrian government and asserted that IS "still exists" despite suffering many casualties.

The tape, which emerged after 11 months of Baghdadi's silence, "appears authentic," CNN quoted Timothy Barrett, a spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Previously, US officials said they believed Baghdadi was hiding somewhere in the Euphrates River Valley – the last strip of land held by IS that straddles the border between Iraq and Syria.

Officials told CNN that the US believed it had a chance to kill Baghdadi in an airstrike over the summer and “attempted to fire a number of shots” at him. However, his death has not been confirmed.

According to Vietnamnet.vn