A Senior Security Official from Iraqi Kurdistan: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is Alive

A senior official from the Counter-Terrorism Service of Iraqi Kurdistan stated on Monday, July 17, that he is "99 percent" certain that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State (ISIS), is still alive. Lahur Talabani told Reuters, "There is no doubt that al-Baghdadi is alive. He is not dead, and we have information indicating that he is alive. We are 99 percent sure he is alive." This senior intelligence official from the Kurdistan region of Iraq added regarding al-Baghdadi, "Do not forget that his roots go back to the al-Qaeda era in Iraq. [At that time too] he was hiding from security forces. He is skilled in his work." The leader of the Islamic State declared his self-proclaimed caliphate in 2014 in the city of Mosul, which was under ISIS control for three years until it was completely liberated on July 9. Human rights observers in Syria reported on July 20 that they had received "confirmed information" regarding the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi; however, U.S. officials stated on the same day that they could not confirm this news. Lahur Talabani, who is fighting as part of a global coalition against ISIS and is at the forefront of efforts to locate al-Baghdadi, told Reuters that al-Baghdadi is "currently a fugitive but remains a cunning enemy." Mr. Talabani added that finding al-Baghdadi is "not an easy task because he has years of experience in hiding and evading security forces." According to this senior intelligence official, "the area still under ISIS control is very difficult, and ISIS's work is not yet over." Despite the loss of control of the city of Mosul in Iraq and the encirclement of ISIS in the city of Raqqa in Syria, relatively large areas between these two cities remain under the control of the Islamic State. Lahur Talabani further stated that ISIS members are currently trying to change their strategy to ambush in the mountains and deserts and conduct hit-and-run operations against security forces. He added that he believes most of ISIS's leaders are currently in Raqqa, and a new generation of former intelligence officers from Saddam Hussein's government who cooperate with ISIS are preparing to replace al-Baghdadi's deceased aides. According to AFP, Russia also announced on Monday that it is still facing difficulties in confirming whether al-Baghdadi is dead or alive. The Russian army had stated a month ago that it was trying to confirm reports that al-Baghdadi was killed in one of the airstrikes by Russian fighter jets near Raqqa; the Kremlin announced on Monday that Russian officials have not yet succeeded in confirming this news.