Terror group chooses physics teacher as replacement for former leader wounded in airstrike

oge okonkwo

April 24, 2015 6:42 PM

Hisham al Hashimi, an Iraqi government adviser, said that Abu Alaa Afri has been selected to stand in as his replacement, and could take over permanently if al-Baghdadi dies

ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

Recent reports suggest that the Islamic state has chosen a former Iraqi physics teacher as a replacement for ISIS leader, leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi who might have been seriously injured during an airstrike operation.

Hisham al Hashimi, an Iraqi government adviser, told Newsweek earlier this week that al-Baghdadi was wounded back in March, and is unable to carry out his day-to-day duties. He said that Abu Alaa Afri has been selected to stand in as his replacement, and could take over permanently if al-Baghdadi dies, Christian Post reports.

"After Baghdadi's wounding, he [Afri] has begun to head up Daesh [arabic term for ISIS] with the help of officials responsible for other portfolios," Hashimi said. "He will be the leader of Daesh if Baghdadi dies."

"He was a physics teacher in Tal Afar [northwestern Iraqi city] in Nineveh, and has dozens of publications and religious (Shariah) studies of his own," the government adviser said. "He is a follower of Abu Musaab al-Suri [prominent jihadi scholar]."

Hashimi added that Afri is a "good public speaker" who is "smarter" and has "better relationships" than al-Baghdadi, and is liked by the other higher ranked members of the terror group.

It is difficult to confirm the condition of al-Baghdadi, however, and the U.S. government has said there is no evidence to prove he has indeed been injured.

"We said that there was nothing to indicate that Baghdadi had been wounded or killed," Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said. "There's nothing to indicate that there's been a change".

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