Iraqi PM Barzani: The death of al-Baghdadi is not end of the Islamic State

The death of the Islamic State (IS) top leader Abu Bakir Al-Baghdadi does not mean the end of the insurgent group or that the world is safe now, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani has argued.

“I don’t think the job is finished. I think Al-Baghdadi was on top of this organization, but by no means this is the end of ISIS. The ISIS leaders in different areas have operated almost independently. They are inspired by the vision of their leader, but that doesn’t mean that they cannot continue operating without their leader,” Barzani said during an interview with ABC News.

“Any terrorists killed or captured means less of a threat but that doesn’t mean that the world is a safer place today because you don’t know what might replace or who might replace him.”

He additionally urged the US and other world countries to “stay alert, increase cooperation and accept the fact that terrorism is still a major threat to the security of the world, so the corporation that has already been in place would continue.”

The Kurdish premier also warned of thousands of IS fighters held in prisons in Syria, noting that they would pose a great threat to the whole world if they ever break out of prison.

“We we are concerned very much specially if they’re not contained if the prisons are not secured. We’ve seen in the past that that they’re able to run away, and of course they pose a great threat to the security of not only the region, but like you said, of the world, so we hope that all these prisoners now in custody will be secured.”

He further reminded that the Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga forces played a key role in breaking the myth of the IS group, and how he stayed alongside the Peshmerga fighters in the front lines since the emergence of the extremist group in 2014.

“We have a long experience of fighting ISIS. I’ve been in the front lines with the Peshmerga since 2014 when we fought ISIS. And Peshmergas have paid a very great price in liberating many of the areas that were initially controlled by ISIS. There were in fact the very first force on the ground that broke the myth of ISIS as an undefeatable force. And Peshmergas have done a great job alongside many other members of the coalition,” he said.

Source: Basnews