Rumours have been doing the rounds over the past few months that the heir to ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi has been appointed, who is identified as Abdullah Qardash, an Iraqi. The news surfaced on August 8 by the media agency of ISIS, Amaq. However, there has been no official confirmation of the move yet.
This development comes at a time when speculations are rife that Baghdadi's health is rapidly deteriorating after he was injured during a battle in Hajin last year and was paralysed down his waist.
Qardash shares history with Baghdadi, The National reports. The two of them were imprisoned together in Iraq by the US forces in 2003. Qardash was also part of the Al-Qaeda and served as a religious commissar before pledging his allegiance to the ISIS.
If Qardash takes on the role of the leader of the ISIS, he would also automatically become the caliph. His family tree shows that he is the direct descendant of Imam Hassan, the grandson of Prophet Mohammed. Baghdadi had claimed that he was the caliph in 2014.
Baghdadi was last seen in an 18-minute video message in April saying that the militant group was defeated by the US-led Kurdish forces and many of their top leaders were killed in the siege in eastern-Syria.
Reports state that Baghdadi did not show any sign of injury. Many had claimed that he was killed in the attack while others stated that he was grievously injured.
