A new photo of Daesh (ISIS) chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi just emerged on Kurdish media, but little information leaves media wondering about its credibility.
Kurdish news agency Rudaw posted a photo Sunday of al-Baghdadi sitting in a house reading the Quran.
#العراق|| صورة جديدة لـ #البغدادي في #الموصل نشرتها شبكة "رووداو" الكردية #داعش #تنظيم_الدولة #دولة_الخلافة #سوريا pic.twitter.com/ziDxjLbijD
— محمد العثمان (@m_alothman) July 12, 2015The photo was first uploaded on social media by an Arab journalist. Translation New image of Baghdadi in Mosul published by Kurdish network "Rudaw."
There are a lot of unanswered questions. The Kurdish agency doesn't mention how it acquired the photo and whether it had actually seen al-Baghdadi (highly doubtful). Nobody was able to verify the photo or the time it was taken, and Daesh-affiliated social media accounts haven't mentioned a thing about it.
Last we heard of al-Baghdadi, the head of Daesh (ISIS) was allegedly injured in an airstrike, and reports in April said the Daesh chief was temporarily replaced by a senior Daesh leader in April.
The elusive militant's real name has been referred to as both Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali Muhammad al-Badri al-Samarrai and, by his ex-wife, Hisham Mohammad. Daesh has rarely shared any photos of him, making it all the more unusual to see a new one being circulated on social media.
By Hayat Norimine
