abu bakr al-baghdadi

How ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi became feared preacher of hate

A preacher of hate. The instigator and inspirer of some of the most hideous acts of violence ever put to video. An elusive fugitive, hunted by drones, only once seen in public. The perverter of Islam with a nauseatingly infectious ideology that had a greater lure to a disenfranchised minority than anything comparable since the 1970s.

After reign of terror, ISIS's Baghdadi pleads for relevance

It was a message in a bottle from the land of irrelevance. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-appointed caliph of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), this week purportedly put out a voice recording to his dwindling flock of followers, exhorting them to carry on a fight they've already lost.

ISIS fighters escape from US-backed detention in Syria

A small number of ISIS detainees have "recently" escaped from detention by US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, according to a US official with direct knowledge of the program. The official described the incident as involving "less than five ISIS fighters."

ISIS in Southeast Asia: Philippines battles growing threat

At least 103 people have died in the city of Marawi on the southern island of Mindanao in less than a week as fighters affiliated with the so-called Islamic State engaged in violent clashes with government forces, and martial law was declared over the entire island.