Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi

Abū Bakr al-Baghdadi (أبو بكر البغدادي; born Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim al-Badri on 28 July 1971) is the leader of the Salafi jihadist militant terrorist organisation known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which controls territory in several countries. The group has been designated a terrorist organisation by the United Nations, as well as by the European Union and many individual states. In June 2014, he was elected by the majlis al-shura (consultative council or Shura council), representing the ahl al-hall wal-aqd of the Islamic State, to be their caliph, which he claims to be. On 4 October 2011, the U.S. State Department added al-Baghdadi to the Specially Designated Nationals List and announced a reward of up to US$10 million for information or intelligence leading to his capture or death. On 16 December 2016, the U.S. increased the reward to $25 million equal to the reward being offered for the leader of al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri. Authorities within the United States have also accused al-Baghdadi of kidnapping, enslaving, and repeatedly raping an American, Kayla Mueller, who ISIL later falsely alleged was killed in a Jordanian airstrike. Various reports of Baghdadi's death, injury, or arrest have surfaced over time, but none have been confirmed by independent reliable sources.