Iraq official: Daesh chief alive, being treated in Syria

An Iraqi interior ministry official said the leader of Daesh, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, is alive and receiving treatment at a field hospital in the Syrian desert.

“Al-Baghdadi suffers from fractures and serious wounds to his leg and body which prevent him from walking alone and was recently admitted to a hospital in Damascus,” the head of the interior ministry’s Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism Department Ali Al-Basri told Iraqi Al-Sabah newspaper.

Al-Basri stressed that “confirmed information from sources within the organisation indicate that Al-Baghdadi’s health and psychological situation have deteriorated.”

According to the official, Al-Baghdadi “is living his last days suffering from diabetes”.

Last week, the Iraqi authorities published a list of internationally wanted terrorist leaders which was later edited to include Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim Ali Al-Badri Al-Samarrai, also known as Al-Baghdadi.

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