A Look At The Operational Structure Of The Islamic State

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, said to be the Islamic State's leader, in an image taken from the website of a militant group last July. Credit via Reuters

New York Times: ISIS Leader Takes Steps to Ensure Group’s Survival

WASHINGTON — The Islamic State’s reclusive leader has empowered his inner circle of deputies as well as regional commanders in Syria and Iraq with wide-ranging authority, a plan to ensure that if he or other top figures are killed, the organization will quickly adapt and continue fighting, American and Iraqi intelligence officials say.

The officials say the leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, delegates authority to his cabinet, or shura council, which includes ministers of war, finance, religious affairs and others.

The Islamic State’s leadership under Mr. Baghdadi has drawn mainly from two pools: veterans of Al Qaeda in Iraq who survived the insurgency against American forces with battle-tested militant skills, and former Baathist officers under Saddam Hussein with expertise in organization, intelligence and internal security. It is the merger of these two skill sets that has made the organization such a potent force, the officials say.

WNU Editor: What strikes me about this report is the amount of ignorance on the inner workings of the Islamic State, and the admission of intelligence officials that much of what they do know comes from the Islamic State itself.