Islamic State (ISIS) chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was reported dead +its loss of Mosul +Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi +slain al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden +"normal family man" who was good with children +BEIRUT: Discreet in his youth and invisible as the world's most wanted man,on Tuesday as his cross-border "caliphate" falls apart.The reclusive jihadist chief's death was confirmed by "top tier commanders" from his Islamic State group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.The report could not be independently verified. Baghdadi has been rumoured wounded or killed several times in the past. "I don't have a clue," Townsend said. "Hope he's deader than a doornail. Iraqi security services arrested him twice subsequently, in 2007 and 2012, but let him go because they did not know who he was.In 2005, he pledged allegiance to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi , the brutal leader of the local al-Qaida franchise.Zarqawi was killed by an American drone strike in 2006.

Source: Times of India July 12, 2017 09:22 UTC