Former Saddam Hussein aide Abdullah Qardash reportedly takes up Islamic State reins after death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
American raids this weekend have resulted in the deaths of Islamic State (IS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and spokesperson Abu al-Hassan al-Mujahir in Syria but the terror outfit was quick to bring to the fore a successor who was already designated.
According to Newsweek, Abdullah Qardash or Hajji Abdullah al-Afari, was reportedly nominated by Baghdadi to run the IS’ “Muslim affairs” in August. The nomination came in a widely circulated statement attributed to the IS’ official Amaq news outlet but never publicly endorsed by the outfit. Qardash is a former Iraqi military officer who has served under late dictator Saddam Hussein and if the report is to be believed, Qardash would have taken up Baghdadi’s mantle though the hardline leader’s role had become largely symbolic at the time of his death. Qardash rose through the extremist ranks after the capture of the former Iraqi dictator in 2003.
Qardash, nicknamed 'Professor', is not too popular in the IS
While nothing much is known about the new face of the IS, it will be a real challenge for him to lead from the front as the group is now in a retreating mode with no big territory under its claim. The IS is in the lookout for new geostrategic hold after facing the offensive in Iraq and Syria and that finds them pitted against new challenges elsewhere, for example in Afghanistan. The group itself is also facing divisions at the moment that Qardash, nicknamed “Professor”, has to bridge. The man is known to be ruthless in making policies and that doesn’t make him too popular with many in his group who do not conform to his vision and strategy.
Along with slain Baghdadi, Qardash was also jailed by the American forces for their links with Al Qaeda in 2003 and were kept at Camp Bucca detention center in Basra, Iraq. Qardash was also a confidante of Baghdadi’s former deputy Abu Alaa al-Afri, who was killed in a helicopter raid by the American forces in 2016.