New ISIS chief could replace al-Baghdadi in weeks: US official

The new ISIS chief to replace Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi who was killed during the secret military raid by the US army will soon be announced. In the US House Homeland Security Committee hearing on October 31, the acting director of the National Counter-terrorism Center, Russ Travers said that the terrorist organisation has a 'deep bench' and therefore a new head will surface in days or even a few weeks. However, Travers did not predict which ISIS member will definitely take over the leadership after Baghdadi. The NCTC acting director also stated that there are nearly 14 thousand ISIS fighters in both Syria and Iraq. 

'Losses were significant'

Russ Travers said that undoubtfully the military raid of October 27 resulted in 'significant losses for ISIS' however, the organisation has a deep bench and therefore between a couple of days or weeks, the military forces will witness a new leader. The acting director also said that the US along with the coalition has been successful in eliminating the leadership of both Al-Qaeda along with ISIS over the years and even then, the bench 'tends to rise' to the top. Furthermore, Travers also predicted that the new leader might try to build relations with the leader of the rival extremist group Al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri. According to Travers, there will be several eulogies for Baghdadi's death and some will even come from the rival group.

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Insurgency by ISIS

Apart from Syria and Iraq, ISIS has nearly 20 branches and affiliates around the world, this also indicates that 'insurgency has a lot of options'. The intelligence presumes that they will witness calls for an attack against Western interests along with requests of branches and affiliates to swear allegiance to the new leader. However, in the near future, Travers said that there will not be any significant attack by ISIS but any planning which was under during Baghdadi will not be interrupted by the recent strike.

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Baghdadi killed

The US President Donald Trump confirmed that ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been killed on October 27. Addressing a press conference, Trump said that US forces carried out an operation in the north-west Syrian region of Idlib to kill ISIS chief Baghdadi. He said that Baghdadi had been under US intelligence surveillance for 'a couple of weeks'. Trump said that the United States lost no soldier in the operation and claimed that many ISIS men and Baghdadi's aides were killed in the operation. Detailing about the operation, Trump said that al-Baghdadi was in a room with 11 children. He said that the operation began at 5'o clock and lift-off started 'moments after that'. He then added that the world's most dangerous terrorist died "like a coward".

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(With agency inputs)