Official:

Iraqi Intelligence Service Monitoring Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi's Movements

Rasa - Iraqi government has not yet been able to confirm the authenticity of the ISIL leader Abubakir al-Baghdadi's new order in which he asks his followers to hide and flee to mountainous areas.

News ID: 427846

Date: 04 March 2017 - 19:42

RNA - The spokesperson for the Iraqi joint operations, Brigadier General Yahya Rasoul, said that the government has not yet confirmed the authenticity of Baghdadi's letter to his supporters and that he cannot make any statements about it, Basnews reported.

"The Iraqi intelligence services are still monitoring the movements of Abubakir al-Baghdadi," he said, adding that "if we discover Baghdadi's whereabouts, we will take immediate actions to arrest or eliminate him."

He stressed that the ISIL organization has suffered a huge defeat at the hands of the Iraqi forces.

The Iraqi channel Sumeria News, quoting a local source in Nineveh province, recently said that the leader of the ISIL organization has ordered his followers to hide and flee to the mountainous areas.

The official stated that Baghdadi has admitted defeat in the recent fighting, and his message is his farewell to his followers.

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