As the once-powerful Islamic State crumbles, and its desperate fighters make a last stand in its final enclave surrounded by US-backed coalition forces, its ideological leader is nowhere to be found.
“He’s hiding somewhere, people were angry,” Mohammed Ali, an IS fighter from Canada who was captured by the US-backed Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces, toldThe ideological appeal of IS and Islamic extremism remains, but Baghdadi’s leadership vacuum and the receding territorial losses of what’s left of IS holdings in Syria diminish the influence of the once-powerful organisation.
Although Baghdadi remains far from the battlefield, he has continued to urge his loyal and ardent followers to carry on the fight. His most recent call to arms was in a series of audio clips released in August 2018.Explosions in June 2017 levelled the mosque where Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi gave his first sermon as leader of the Islamic State group.
At its peak, the Islamic State ruled a vast swath of ungoverned space across Syria and Iraq, ruling a population of more than eight million people. Picture: AFPJust like managing any organisation, emphasising the people and ensuring their support is essential. By appearing absent from the battlefield at the most critical moments, Baghdadi seems to have failed his zealous supporters.
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