International media reports say that the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) announced Tuesday that the son of its elusive leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, has died in a suicide attack in the Homs province of Syria.
Newsweek reports that in a graphic released through official ISIS channels on Telegram, the jihadi group announced the death of Hudhayfah al-Badri, who shares the same birth surname as his father, Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim al-Badri, better known as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The graphic and accompanying statement were attributed to ISIS' Homs branch, Wilayah Hims, which said the son of the ISIS leader, or “khalifah,” was killed battling supporters of the Syrian government.
It described Hudhayfah as being killed during an "inghimasi" operation—a term that refers to jihadis that charge enemy lines with the intent of doing maximum damage—against the "Nusayriyyah," a term used by ultraconservative Sunni Muslims such as ISIS followers to describe the Alawites, a Shiite Muslim sect to which Syrian President Bashar al-Assad belongs, and Russians, which back Assad's government, according to Newsweek.
Al Jazeera reports that the statement did not specify when he was killed. It said he was an elite fighter who was killed while fighting Syrian and Russia troops at a power station in central Homs province.
Reuters says Badri is believed to have been born in Iraq in 2000 – making him around 18.
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria group has been driven from nearly all the territory it once controlled in Syria and Iraq, though it still maintains a presence in the Syrian desert and remote areas along the border.
