Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the supreme leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, is dead, according to a claim made by Radio Iran on April 27, 2015. Baghdadi had suffered life-threatening injuries in a US-led coalition air strike in March. However, the claim is yet to be verified.
Baghdadi, and his supporters the ISIS, are considered to be a major threat to the world, particularly the Middle East. One of the most wanted terrorists and the leader of an organization which is considered more dangerous than the Al Qaeda, Baghdadi carries a cash award of $10 million dollars.
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Baghdadi, who holds a PhD degree and had a passion for football, is responsible for some atrocious crimes such as beheading US journalists, Steven Sotloff and James Foley, mercilessly executing Iraqi soldiers and religious minorities like Yazidis and Shiites.
There is very little information regarding Baghdadi’s background. He is believed to have been born in 1971 in Samarra, which lies near the Iraqi city of Baghdad. He was earlier known as Awwad Ibrahim al-Badri al-Samarri but carries out his operations under the name of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
He was arrested by the US forces in 2005, but as he was not considered a major threat, he was set free in 2009. He has from time to time released videos calling upon his supporters to carry out attacks on the US soil.
The man who is today in control of large swathes of Iraq and Syria and has been responsible for murdering thousands of innocent people, is also referred to as the invisible sheikh as he has rarely been seen by the public and it has been reported that even his supporters do not speak to him, without the leader wearing a mask to hide himself.
Dr. Aminah McCloud, a noted Islamic studies professor at DePaul clearly stated that Baghdadi slaughters Muslims just because they don’t agree with him. The brutality perpetrated by Baghdadi and the ISIS, shows that these people are terrorists and should be treated so. It is ironic that 43-year-old Baghdadi claims himself to be the caliph; the messiah of all Muslims.