By Bill Tong
Iraqi officials boast that some of their recent airstrikes in the effort to sweep ISIS out of Iraq have killed Abu-Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS. If al-Baghdadi was actually killed, what's next?
"Expect anything but a crumbling ISIS," analysts say.
"It will morph, and new leaders will emerge," retired U.S. Major General James Marks said. "In fact, bear in mind that ISIS leadership originated from Saddam's military. These are very conventionally trained, very professional leaders."
Unlike al-Qaeda, ISIS has more organized, allowing them to control vast tracts of territory, something Bin Laden could never do. Although it does not seem like it, al-Baghdadi actually has a vast hierarchy under him, including the Shura Council, the enforcers of Islamic Law it's conquered territories. While an ordinary thug would be beheaded by defying His Holiness, this isn't the case with the Shura Council.
"The Shura Council has the right to tell Baghdadi to go if he's not adhering to ISIS' religious standards," said Jasmine Opperman of the Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium. "It would most probably never happen, but the fact that it's possible indicates the council's prominence."
And then there are his deputies.
"These people who had previously served in Saddam Hussein's army were extremely brutal because Saddam Hussein's regime was very brutal," said Peter Neumann of King's College. "But they also inherited the disciplines and the military skills that are now benefiting ISIS in its campaign against its enemies."
Al-Baghdadi maintains a group of advisers, which some may be even more brutal than al-Baghdadi, as well as two top deputies -- Abu Muslim al-Turkmani, a former Iraq military official that oversees all militant activities in Iraq, and Abu Ali al-Anbari, another high ranking military officer who is in charge of operations in Syria.
This means that even if al-Baghdadi was killed, we would be back to square one.
Iraqi officials boast that some of their recent airstrikes in the effort to sweep ISIS out of Iraq have killed Abu-Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS. If al-Baghdadi was actually killed, what's next?
"Expect anything but a crumbling ISIS," analysts say.
"It will morph, and new leaders will emerge," retired U.S. Major General James Marks said. "In fact, bear in mind that ISIS leadership originated from Saddam's military. These are very conventionally trained, very professional leaders."
Unlike al-Qaeda, ISIS has more organized, allowing them to control vast tracts of territory, something Bin Laden could never do. Although it does not seem like it, al-Baghdadi actually has a vast hierarchy under him, including the Shura Council, the enforcers of Islamic Law it's conquered territories. While an ordinary thug would be beheaded by defying His Holiness, this isn't the case with the Shura Council.
"The Shura Council has the right to tell Baghdadi to go if he's not adhering to ISIS' religious standards," said Jasmine Opperman of the Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium. "It would most probably never happen, but the fact that it's possible indicates the council's prominence."
And then there are his deputies.
"These people who had previously served in Saddam Hussein's army were extremely brutal because Saddam Hussein's regime was very brutal," said Peter Neumann of King's College. "But they also inherited the disciplines and the military skills that are now benefiting ISIS in its campaign against its enemies."
Al-Baghdadi maintains a group of advisers, which some may be even more brutal than al-Baghdadi, as well as two top deputies -- Abu Muslim al-Turkmani, a former Iraq military official that oversees all militant activities in Iraq, and Abu Ali al-Anbari, another high ranking military officer who is in charge of operations in Syria.
This means that even if al-Baghdadi was killed, we would be back to square one.