Isis’s Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi alive and ‘hiding in Syria’
Jihadi leader reportedly wounded in air strike and suffering poor mental health

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is reportedly alive and being treated in Syria for injuries sustained in an air raid, having temporarily relinquished control of the Islamic State terror group.
“We have irrefutable information and documents from sources within the terrorist organisation that al-Baghdadi is still alive and hiding,” the director general of Iraq’s intelligence and counterterrorism office, Abu Ali al-Basri, told Iraqi government-run newspaper Al-Sabah. The jihadist is believed to be in the desert on the Syrian side of the Syria-Iraq border northeast of Deir Ezzor province, Basri added.
Several US intelligence sources told CNN that Baghdadi - who has a $25m (£18m) bounty on his head - was wounded in an air strike near Raqqa, in northern Syria, last May, and relinquished control of the terror group for up to five months as a result. The US assessment is based on information from Isis detainees and refugees in the region, the news website adds.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Basri said Baghdadi had recently been hospitalised for his “deteriorating psychological state”, reports Kurdistan 24. The Isis leader also has “injuries, diabetes and fractures to the body and legs that prevent him from walking without assistance”, Basri added, according to Al Jazeera English.
Bagdadi - real name Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri al-Samarrai - tops a list released by Iraq last week of the most wanted Isis terrorist commanders, says Saudi-owned news broadcaster Al Arabiya English.
There were reports last year that Russia had killed the terrorist leader, who was last captured on camera in July 2014.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
John McWhorter’s 6 favorite books that are rooted in history
Feature The Columbia University professor recommends works by Lyla Sage, Sally Thorne, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Book review: ‘Abundance’ and ‘Raising Hare: A Memoir’
Feature The political party of ‘abundance’ and a political adviser befriends a baby hare
By The Week US Published
-
USPS Postmaster General DeJoy steps down
Speed Read Louis DeJoy faced ongoing pressure from the Trump administration as they continue to seek power over the postal system
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Is the pro-Assad insurgency a threat to the new Syria?
Today's Big Question Interim leader accuses regime loyalists and 'foreign backers' of trying to 'divide and destroy' the country
By The Week UK Published
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?
The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliament
THE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
The resurgence of the Taliban in Pakistan
Under the Radar Islamabad blames Kabul for sheltering jihadi fighters terrorising Pakistan's borderlands
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Who is the Hat Man? 'Shadow people' and sleep paralysis
In Depth 'Sleep demons' have plagued our dreams throughout the centuries, but the explanation could be medical
By The Week Staff Published
-
The challenge facing Syria's Alawites
Under The Radar Minority sect that was favoured under Assad now fears for its future
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Islamic State: the terror group's second act
Talking Point Isis has carried out almost 700 attacks in Syria over the past year, according to one estimate
By The Week UK Published