Unknown secrets about the life of IS leader in prison

Lying in a US prison in Iraq, the IS supreme leader was tortured but he always used a peaceful cover to plan big things.

Portrait of the supreme leader of the Islamic State (IS) Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

IS supreme leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, full name Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri al-Samarrai, was born in 1971, in the Iraqi city of Samarra.

He was detained by US forces in Fallujah, west of Baghdad, in February 2004, months after he and his accomplices founded Jeish Ahl al-Sunnah al-Jamaah, a militant group responsible for a series of violent attacks in Iraq.

In February 2004, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was detained in a special section of Abu Ghraib prison.

Located about 32 km west of Baghdad, Abu Ghraib was once considered one of the most "notorious" prisons in the world. Under the late President Saddam Hussein, this place was used to detain prisoners rebelling against the government. After the collapse of Mr. Hussein's regime, the US military took over this prison.

There were numerous cases of prisoners being “beaten, mistreated and sexually abused” at Abu Ghraib prison. According to many leaked information, torture and executions took place on a weekly basis, with prisoners being treated as “entertainment” for some prison guards.

With an area of ​​over 100 hectares, a capacity of nearly 190,000 prisoners, a 4km long security belt and 24 guard posts, it was once a terrifying nightmare for thousands of Iraqi prisoners.

In prison, Al-Baghdadi was not referred to by his name but by the number US9IZ-157911CI. In a 2016 statement, the US military admitted that IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was also tortured while imprisoned at Abu Ghraib.

He lived in extremely poor conditions, crammed with prisoners into 3.5x3.5 meter cells.

Abu Ghraib prison has a 4km long security belt with 24 guard posts, which was once a nightmare for prisoners.

According to Abu Ahmed, another senior IS commander who was captured, it was during his time in Abu Ghraib that Al-Baghdadi attempted to establish a powerful network of extremist fighters.

Accordingly, despite being tortured, the supreme leader of IS always appeared docile and used a gentle cover to gain sympathy from the prison guards. He won the sympathy and had a good relationship with the American soldiers. The American prison guards in 2004 considered him a mediator, specializing in reconciling conflicts between prisoner factions and keeping the prison peaceful.

"He always wanted to be the head of the prison," Abu Ahmed recalled. "Now, looking back, I realize that Baghdadi used a very effective divide-and-conquer policy to get what he wanted, which was status."

“He was respected by the American soldiers,” Abu Ahmed said. “We couldn’t visit people in other camps, but he could. And in the meantime, Baghdadi was planning a new strategy right under their noses, which was to build up ISIS.”

By December 2004, after months of trying, the prison guards decided that Baghdadi was not a future threat and decided to release him.

Just 13 months after al-Baghdadi's release, in January 2006, al-Qaeda in Iraq's Abu Musab al-Zarqawi group joined forces with other Sunni groups to form the Mujahideen Shura Council, and in June 2006, the coalition, renamed the Islamic State of Iraq, elected al-Baghdadi as its leader.

According to Kienthuc.net.vn