Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi trapped in Mosul

(AhlulBayt News Agency) - Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the ISIS believed to be trapped in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, as a result of a failed escape attempted.

The ISIS leader was previously considered to have fled the territory of Iraq and moved to ISIS' main stronghold and self-declared capital of the Syrian city of Raqqa.

However, the Shiite armed group Hashd al-Shaabi, also known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, released a statement on Saturday saying that according to information received by them, the ISIS leader is still inside the city of Mosul and has not left since the start of the operation for liberating Mosul, led by the Iraqi forces.
 
Jawad al-Tleibawai, a militia leader at Hashd al-Shaabi’s Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq militia, delivered a statement on Saturday, saying initial information obtained by the group’s intelligence bodies suggests that al-Baghdadi remains in the province of Nineveh and more specifically within the city of Mosul.

According to Reuters, a reliable source living among the ISIS militants, who shared information with the Iraqi forces, has said al-Baghdadi is “intemperate” since the start of the assault. He further avoids any movement unless necessary and is believed to live in an underground tunnel system. The source further told the pro-government forces that the ISIS leader does not sleep without a suicide vest on.

Back in December 2016, Russian intelligence services officially claimed that al-Baghadadi has been killed in an airstrike, however latest updates show that the ISIS leader is still in Mosul, as the Iraqi forces continue to advance in their offensive against the ISIS militants, which started on the 17th of October 2016. Since the start more than 80% of the eastern areas of Mosul have been recaptured by the Iraqi army, who entered the second phase of the operation in the beginning of January.




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