ISIS leader al-Baghdadi proves formidable enemy
Contrary to his predecessors, Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has proven to be more pragmatic and devious.
The picture released by the Iraqi Interior Ministry on Jan. 29 of the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was a first-of-its-kind breakthrough since US forces showed a picture of him when he was detained in Bucca prison (southern Iraq) between 2005 and 2009.
According to information available from al-Qaeda and from leaks from the Iraqi Interior Ministry, Baghdadi’s actual name is Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri al-Samarrai.
According to unconfirmed sources, Baghdadi was born in 1971, and earned a doctorate in Islamic studies from the Islamic University in Baghdad. Some sources said that he worked as a professor of Sharia before becoming a Salafist preacher. In Diyala province, he founded an armed group named Jaish Ahl-Sunna wal Jamaa, which never became well-known.
Sources disagree about whether or not he joined the Mujahedeen Shura Council, which was founded by a group linked to al-Qaeda in 2006, with many sources saying he was a member in this council.
