ISIS chief Baghdadi said to be killed in US strike

New Delhi, Oct 27: The United States has carried out a major operation targeting Islamic State chief Abu Bakr Al Bhagdadi.

US President Donald Trump said that something big has happened. Trump is expected to make a statement soon.

Bhagdadi had in September released an audio message with the title 'Do Deeds.' In the 30 minute audio clip, the supreme commander of the ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Bhagdadi called on cadres of his outfit to resist and lead the fight for the next five years.

He told the cadres to have good faith in Islam and also adds that the results are in the hands of Allah.

He further spoke about the active cells of the ISIS and adds that the daily operations are underway.

Daily operations are on at different fronts, Baghdadi said in the audio clip that was published by the Al Furqan network. He said that the ISIS cells are still active in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen, Libya and Tunisia.

This was the first clip by Baghdadi in five months. The frequency of the clips had gone down drastically and this signalled that his health had deteriorated drastically or the outfit had made some very heavy losses.

The last clip that Baghdadi released was in April and this was after a span of 5 years. He was seen sitting cross legged in that video. He looked heavier when compared to 2014, when his first images were released. Since 2016 there have been numerous claims about the death of ISIS chief, who calls himself the Caliph. Russia had claimed that he had been killed, following which Amaq, the official news agency of the ISIS had also said that their leader had died.

After his first video in 2014, he would post several audio clips calling on the ISIS fighters to attack.

He would wear a mask over his face while issuing statements and this earned him the name invisible Sheikh.

Analysts and officials tracking the Islamic State tell OneIndia that from what they gathered he was on his death bed. He was badly injured in a 2017 air strike. It was said that he was paralysed after the strike. He is also suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure. Baghdadi was believed to be hiding in eastern Syria.