The Islamic State has been crumbling but international spies hunting for Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on a patch of land in Syria and Iraq have still not found the terror group’s leader
Traced thrice
Baghdadi has been traced to a specific place at least three times in the past 18 months alone, writes Martin Chulov, Guardian’s Middle East correspondent. “And despite the protection of a devoted network, there have been other sightings of the reclusive leader,” he adds
45-second mistake that almost killed IS head
Once in 2016, a small mistake almost cost Baghdadi his caliphate. On 3 November 2016, as Iraqi and Kurdish forces advanced on Mosul, the leader took up a handheld radio in a village near the west of the city and exhorted his followers to stand on their ground. It was a 45-second message
And spies posted near the area were shocked. “He spoke for 45 seconds and then his guards took the radio from him… They realised what he’d done,” a senior member of the Kurdistan Region Security Council who monitored the call was quoted as saying by the Guardian. Other instances when Baghdadi’s location was traced also involved the careless use of communication devices
No talking, just Telegram
Now, the terror group is more careful. Without a leadership structure, they don’t even hold meetings anymore, according to IS expert Hashimi. “They don’t even pass oral messages to each other any more. They use Signal and Telegram [encrypted apps] to communicate”