For several days, numerous Arab news agencies have been broadcasting news about the alleged death of the Caliph (never confirmed) for the serious injuries reported after an allied raid on 18 last March, near al-Baaj, a district of Nineveh, near on the Syrian border.
According to Iraqi news agencies 'Alghad' and 'Al-Youm Al-Thamen', al-Baghdadi died at a hospital in the occupied Golan Heights, where he was hospitalized for the severely reported spinal injuries. According to Iraqis, the caliph would be "clinically dead".
The last wishes of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, would have concerned the new leadership of the Islamic State. Al-Baghdadi's closest friend, Sheikh Noman Salman Mansour al-Zaidi has been appointed Minister of War. Colonel Samir al-khilefawi, known as Haji Bakr, is the new military consultant. Abdullah Yusuf al-Khatooni was appointed as new personal adviser to the caliph while Fadel Hayali (Abu Muslim Turkmani) was promoted to deputy of the Islamic State in Iraq.
With the appointment of Sheikh Abdul Rahman Mustafa as head of the Shura Council and deputy of al-Baghdadi, all of ISIS's principal positions are held exclusively by Iraqis. Despite receiving the role of successor after the removal of Abu Ali Anbari, al-Afri also known by the name of battle Abu Suja, is the new Caliph of the Islamic State.
Its rise should not be seen as a change of al-Baghdadi, which remains the "supreme leader" until proven otherwise. Al-Afri has obtained executive power, but he still answers the caliph on the most important issues (at least until al-Baghdadi remains alive).
Al-Afri, of Iraqi origin, was born near al-Hadar (80 km south of Mosul). Physics teacher at a school in Tal Afar, a city in northwest Iraq, Nineveh district, has published dozens of religious studies on respect for sharia. A member of the government of Saddam Hussein, he then moved to Afghanistan in 1998 where he began his career in al-Qaeda, joining Abu Musab al Zarqawi, initially as head of Sharia law enforcement.
Noted immediately by Bin Laden who elected him as his protégé, in the 2010 he was nominated by the latter as the Emir of al-Qaeda in Iraq, immediately after the elimination of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri .
A supporter and follower of the jihadist theories of Abu Musaab al-Suri, al-Afri is one of the best minds of Isis. He should be credited with the new alliance signed with the Syrian terrorists on the Jabhat al-Nusra front. Skilled orator and diplomat, he is held in high esteem among the prominent jihadists of the organization. Al-Afri's power has increased in recent times, soon after the ousting of Abu Ali al-Anbari, Caliph's right hand, after the defeats suffered by ISIS in Iraq and Syria at the beginning of the year.
Previously, al-Afri was responsible for coordinating the central government with the emirs of the various regions of the caliphate in formation. A task considered fundamental.
He also has the last word on everything concerning the actions of martyrdom and "feminine" matter.
Franco Iacch
