The
Kill List: Half of ISIS top commanders believed to be dead… but
executioner-in-chief Jihadi John is still free to commit barbaric
slaughter
* Allied airstrikes decimate
ISIS' leadership, leaving terror group in chaos
* Terror chief Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi left isolated and in hiding amid chaos
* Nine out the 18 members of
Baghdadi's ruling council have been killed
* These
include number two Abu Muslim al-Turkmani, who had previously served as
a lieutenant colonel in Saddam Hussein's Iraqi army
* But
prominent killers such as Jihadi John are still free to commit atrocities
By John Hall
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Terror: ISIS' leadership has been left in chaos following the deaths of many of its senior commanders
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The Islamic State's
leadership in Syria and Iraq has been decimated by months of sustained air
strikes, leaving the terror group in chaos and isolating leader Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi, it is claimed.
Allied airstrikes,
including those carried out by British warplanes, have killed more than 6,000
fighters since September, including more than half the militants serving on
ISIS' ruling council.
Among the dead jihadis is
Abu Muslim al-Turkmani, a former Iraqi army lieutenant colonel considered
Baghdadi's number two and ISIS' most senior militant in Iraq.
His death and that of as
many as nine others on ISIS' 18-man leadership council have forced Baghdadi to
promote local warlords to the status of regional commanders, as his inner
circle of trusted advisers and battle-hardened loyalists becomes increasingly
small.
Baghdadi has not been seen
in public since July and there have been numerous unconfirmed reports that he
suffered serious injury or possibly even death as a result of targeted
airstrikes.
The likelihood, however, is
that Baghdadi has been forced deep into hiding to avoid being targeted by jets
that have destroyed more than 1,000 vehicles used by terrorists over the past
five months.
Other senior figures within
the terror group have not been afforded that luxury and still need to travel
across the vast swathes of Syria and Iraq that remain under ISIS'
control.
This forces them to make a
decision whether to move as part of a large military convoy and risk being
spotted by warplanes overhead, or whether to use cars that reduce the
likelihood of aerial detection but leave them at risk of kidnap or killing at
the hands if ISIS' rivals on the ground.
Among the ISIS leadership figures killed in
airstrikes in recent months is Abu Musa al-Alwani, according to the Sun. Another former member of Saddam
Hussein's army, Abu Musa - real name Waleed Jassem al-Alwani - had been a
prominent member of ISIS' military council before his death.
Also killed by coalition
airstrikes last year was Abu Abdulrahman al-Bilawi - who had been the head of
Baghdadi's four man military council, having previously served on the terror
leader's religious and strategic advisory body, known as the Shura Council.
Another militant reportedly
killed by the first wave of coalition airstrikes in September was Abu
Hajar Al-Sufi, also known as Abu Hajar al-Assafi, who had been one of
Baghdadi's most trusted advisers on the Shura Council.
His death came two months
before that of Abu Jurnas. real name Rathwan Talib Hussein Ismail al-Hamdani,
whose official title was believed to have been Governor of 'Border Provinces'.
Abu Jurnas' role was to
ensure ISIS' barbaric interpretation of Sharia law was enforced along the
Syria-Iraq crossing, and to ensure that the nations' respective armies are
unable to reestablish the border that was effectively wiped out by the terror
group's lightning advance last summer.
Baghdadi is likely to have
replaced Abu Jurnas with another of his trusted lieutenants, but in less
strategically important regions he is understood to have been forced to appoint
local warlords to the role of senior commander as his inner circle of loyalists
dwindles.
While many of these local
tribal leaders are in favour of a Sunni Muslim caliphate and their opposition
to the Syrian and Iraqi regimes confirmed, their allegiances remain largely
tribal and they are not seen as entrenched supporters of the Baghdadi-led
group.
Long-standing tensions
between the tribes has also surfaced as they battle for regional prominence and
advantage, causing chaos with ISIS ranks.
Despite the serious damage
done to ISIS' leadership by the airstrikes, scores of prominent militants
remain alive, including the terror group's British executioner in chief, Jihadi
John.
Although he is unlikely to
hold a senior position within the group's leadership, his death would be highly
symbolic in the battle to defeat ISIS due to his in the deaths of British,
American and Japanese aid workers and journalists.
Other well-known militants
still alive and operational include Abu Wahib, the terror group's 28-year-old
leader in Iraq's Anbar province, whose distinctive thick black beard has
ensured he has been used prominently in ISIS propaganda.
Another is Abu Omar
al-Shishani, another 28-year-old, who is understood to be responsible for ISIS'
military operations within Syria.
Before joining ISIS
Georgian-born Shishani led the terror group Jaish al-Muhajireen wal Ansar in
operations against the Syrian regime, but declared his allegiance to Baghdadi
last year.
He had previously been a
member of the Georgian army, but left ahead of his promotion to officer.