Most of Daesh Leader Baghdadi’s Deputies Dead – Tillerson

WASHINGTON: (Web Desk) Most of the deputies of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of Daesh, have been killed by the US-led coalition against the terror group, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said at the coalition ministerial in Washington on Wednesday. Tillerson added that eliminating al-Baghdadi is a matter of time.”Nearly all of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s deputies are now dead,” Tillerson stated. “Including the masterminds behind the attacks in Brussels, Paris and elsewhere.”

Leader of the militant Islamic State Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.Daesh planned its attacks in France and Turkey, among other nations, from its de facto headquarters in the Syrian city of Raqqa, he added.”ISIS [Daesh] has carried out horrific attacks in the streets of Paris and Istanbul, each planned from its headquarters in Raqqa.”Daesh has recruited 90 percent less foreign fighters than a year ago, he said.He called on the US-led coalition to increase intelligence-sharing both in their own countries and internationally.

“We need greater intelligence and information sharing within our own domestic intelligence agencies and [among] our nations.”The secretary of state noted that information-sharing has already prevented attacks, and it must expand despite regional rivalries.”ISIS [Daesh] is connected across every continent and we must work to break every link in its chain,” Tillerson added.Additionally, Tillerson called for greater cooperation with technology companies to prevent would-be terrorists from using encrypted messaging systems to plan attacks.

The US intends to establish “interim zones of stability” in Syria to help refugees return to their homes, Rex Tillerson said.”While a more defined course of action in Syria is still coming together, I can say the United States will increase our pressure on ISIS [Islamic State] and al-Qaeda,” Tillerson stated. “We will work to establish interim zones of stability through ceasefires to allow refugees to go home.”