There have been rumors that Daesh leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi has been wounded during the coalition attacks on Mosul on Sunday. From the way statements are firming up from various sources it is uncertain whether he succumbed to injuries or was tracked and killed in an air raid in Syria by the US-led coalition.
This death comes as a major reversal for Daesh as the US led coalition in Iraq ups the ante. The statement by the Daesh-affiliated radio station Al-Amaq pretty much confirms that Baghdadi is dead.
But the coalition is saying nothing formally until a body is seen or there is enough evidence and till then it has to be assumed that one of the scenarios could entail sending out an announcement to this effect to disarm the coalition and slow its offensive while taking advantage of the situation and smuggling Baghdadi out to safety especially if he is in a critical state.
There is not much more information coming out at present regarding US led forces seeking confirmation of the statements. "Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi was killed by coalition airstrikes on Raqqa on the fifth day of Ramadan," was the only announcement made by Al-Amaq and it is very likely that the assault on Mosul used satellite flyovers and got a drop on Baghdadi’s location.
With the US-led coalition making inroads into Mosul and the incapacitation of their rallying point and icon, Daesh is on the backfoot.
While the US will see this as a bonus, the putsch comes as no surprise. The not-so-veiled threat by US President Obama in his address following the Orlando massacre will certainly be interpreted as an upscale in the offensive.
When Obama said he would go where he had to go as things became clearer it would not take much to see that the Daesh strongholds are going to be further targeted with the specific intent of targeting the frontline leadership. Intensifying the campaign is the first step in the reprisal and the nations in the coalition seem up for it.
Indeed, there is a price to pay but all the restraint the coalition has shown seems to have been misunderstood as encouragement by Daesh to take inhuman liberties with civilian life.
But what they interpreted as weakness is now manifesting itself as strong resolve to break through the ranks of the Daesh and weaken it from within.
The coalition’s idea clearly is to isolate the last pockets of resistance and then clear the region and perhaps even push toward Syria and repeat the strategic maneuvers. As it is, coalition forces have begun their offensive in that country and made concerted moves toward the town of Manij. All these steps are indicative that an all-out offensive is becoming a reality.
While there is deep regret for the casualties both military and civilian that is the price to pay not just for freedom but for saving two major nations from the grip of extremism.
This death comes as a major reversal for Daesh as the US led coalition in Iraq ups the ante. The statement by the Daesh-affiliated radio station Al-Amaq pretty much confirms that Baghdadi is dead.
But the coalition is saying nothing formally until a body is seen or there is enough evidence and till then it has to be assumed that one of the scenarios could entail sending out an announcement to this effect to disarm the coalition and slow its offensive while taking advantage of the situation and smuggling Baghdadi out to safety especially if he is in a critical state.
There is not much more information coming out at present regarding US led forces seeking confirmation of the statements. "Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi was killed by coalition airstrikes on Raqqa on the fifth day of Ramadan," was the only announcement made by Al-Amaq and it is very likely that the assault on Mosul used satellite flyovers and got a drop on Baghdadi’s location.
With the US-led coalition making inroads into Mosul and the incapacitation of their rallying point and icon, Daesh is on the backfoot.
While the US will see this as a bonus, the putsch comes as no surprise. The not-so-veiled threat by US President Obama in his address following the Orlando massacre will certainly be interpreted as an upscale in the offensive.
When Obama said he would go where he had to go as things became clearer it would not take much to see that the Daesh strongholds are going to be further targeted with the specific intent of targeting the frontline leadership. Intensifying the campaign is the first step in the reprisal and the nations in the coalition seem up for it.
Indeed, there is a price to pay but all the restraint the coalition has shown seems to have been misunderstood as encouragement by Daesh to take inhuman liberties with civilian life.
But what they interpreted as weakness is now manifesting itself as strong resolve to break through the ranks of the Daesh and weaken it from within.
The coalition’s idea clearly is to isolate the last pockets of resistance and then clear the region and perhaps even push toward Syria and repeat the strategic maneuvers. As it is, coalition forces have begun their offensive in that country and made concerted moves toward the town of Manij. All these steps are indicative that an all-out offensive is becoming a reality.
While there is deep regret for the casualties both military and civilian that is the price to pay not just for freedom but for saving two major nations from the grip of extremism.
