Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, ISIS's reclusive leader, makes his first public appearance and delivers his first sermon as the group's "caliph" at a mosque in Mosul, Iraq, July 5, 2014. REUTERS/SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITE VIA REUTERS TV
L.A. Times: As circle tightens on Mosul, a big question: Where is Islamic State's leader?
The smoke and din of the battle of Mosul have now come within a few miles of the landmark 12th century mosque from which Abu Bakr Baghdadi declared the founding of a modern-day caliphate, ushering in a reign of terror in the ancient city on the plains of Nineveh.
Now, in the fourth week of a U.S.-backed alliance’s pincer-like move to retake the northern Iraqi city, the whereabouts of the Islamic State chieftain are unknown – though a rare audio recording posted online last week by the militant group and attributed to him urged followers to fight to the death.
Baghdadi and his senior lieutenants have been the targets of an intensive manhunt by Iraqi and U.S. forces working from land and air, but experts disagree on how and where Islamic State’s top leadership might seek to regroup and recoup – if they are still present in the city, and if they manage to survive the battle of Mosul.
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WNU Editor: No one knows where he is .... and quoting Col. John Dorrian (spokesman for the American-supported operation to retake Mosul) .... If we knew where he was, he would be killed at once.
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