IS chief said sidelined after being wounded in attack

US air strike left al-Baghdadi with spinal injuries, reports The Guardian; group now led by deputy who may become next leader

Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been effectively replaced as head of the jihadist group after suspected spinal injuries sustained in an attack by US forces left him incapacitated, according to a Friday report by The Guardian.

Al-Baghdadi’s deputy Abu Alaa al-Afri was now said to be running the organization’s day-to-day operations, and could remain its leader indefinitely as sources close to IS told the newspaper that it was not clear whether al-Baghdadi would be able to resume command in the future.

A report in The Guardian last month had claimed that the self-proclaimed caliph was left seriously hurt in a March 18 US airstrike in Iraq. The strike in question killed three individuals traveling in a convoy in the Iraqi city of al-Baaj, 128 km (80 miles) west of Mosul.

The Pentagon has acknowledged that it was responsible for the attack, but said it was unaware of al-Baghdadi being one of the casualties.

Previous reports of al-Baghdadi’s death or injury — in November and December of last year — were later proven false.

However, on Friday sources within Mosul gave credence to the earlier report, reporting that the IS chief was being treated by doctors in a hideout in the city. They said a female radiologist and male surgeon were treating the jihadist leader, adding that the medical professionals were ideological proponents of the Sunni extremist group.

Al-Baghdadi was the head of al-Qaeda in Iraq before founding the extremist Islamic State group in 2010. In June of last year, he proclaimed the large parts of Syria and Iraq under the group’s control as an Islamic caliphate, and named himself as caliph.

Recently, the jihadist group — notorious for horrific acts of violence including rape, torture and beheadings — has lost substantial ground in both countries. An offensive of Shia militias, the Iraqi army and Kurdish forces last month reclaimed key areas from IS, including Iraq’s third-largest city of Tikrit.

Two sources within the Islamic State said that coalition strikes had dealt immense blows to the group’s morale and numbers, asserting that the jihadist group would attack the West for its large-scale air campaign.

“They are planning to fight back against Europe,” one member said. “They want to take revenge for Baghdadi.”