ISISIranian based news agency, Fars reported that the leader of the Islamic State group has left the Middle East and is in Libya where he is expected to be safe and free from the airstrikes of the U.S-led coalition and that of Russia. The surprising report stated that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi fled to the North African country after surviving, with serious injuries, an airstrike in October that killed 25 militants.
According to the report, the attack took place near the Syrian border when his convoy was travelling to meet with military leaders in al-Karable, Iraq. It led to claims that he was killed in the airstrike but it was later confirmed that he was injured and taken to Raqqa for treatment before being transferred to Turkey due to the lack of proper medical care. Lebanese based al-Manar television station said the ISIS leader was able to reach Turkey with the help of Ankara’s intelligence services in “coordination” with the CIA of the U.S citing sources.
Fars added that al-Baghdadi’s move to Libya is to evade capture from Iraqi, Iranian, Russian and Syrian intelligence services that are collaborating at the Intelligence sharing center in Baghdad. He is said to be seeking refuge in the coastal town of Sirte which is a stronghold of the group in Libya.
Sirte was described to Fars by one of its sources as “the safest jihadist stronghold in the world” where “no one expects him to be.” As the leader of the Islamic State, al-Baghdadi is expected to be in either Iraq or Syria close to his militants but the source argued that“if he is to be exposed to danger, Sirte would be the last place on Earth for his life to be endangered.”
Libya: Caliph al-Baghdadi in Sirte, flees Middle East
