10 things you didn’t know about Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
July 2, 2014
He’s the self-declared Caliph of the new Islamic State stretching across Iraq and Syria, and a man who even Al Qaeda think is “a bit much”.
But what else do we know about the former ISIS front man?
1 – Began at ISIS as an 18-year-old intern in 1989 and worked his way up to become its youngest CEO at just 38.
2 – Married his childhood sweetheart Zoe in 1991. Together they have three children, Jack, four, and twins Lucy and Abu Jnr, two.
3 – Holds an International MBA from Tel Aviv University, where he was vice-captain of the debating society and wrote for the student newspaper.
4 – Was an early investor in social media platform Twitter and is believed to have made almost $11 million when the company went public in 2012.
5 – Claimed responsibility for an attack in Northern Iraq in 2011 that killed 19 policemen, but later said he had just been joking and it wasn’t actually him at all.
6 – Is described as being a direct descendent of the Prophet Muhammad, but is a far closer direct descendant of his parents, Michael and Janice al-Baghdadi, who run a dry cleaning business in Samarra.
7 – Despite imposing a strict interpretation of Sharia law across his captured territories, Amr keeps things very relaxed in his own home, where he has installed a cinema screen, bar and Jacuzzi for ISIS soldiers to chill out after a big fight.
8 – On top of being the first Caliph since the Ottoman Empire, Abu was the first among his classmates to go to second base with a girl, believed to be Tracy Bingham at an under-18s disco in Baghdad in 1986.
9 – Has said he hopes to expand his Islamic State’s borders beyond Iraq and Syria and into the Gulf, Jordan, Palestine, Turkey and the Spanish island of Ibiza.
10 – Abu fell out with Al Qaeda boss Ayman Al-Zawahiri earlier this year after describing the global terror network as being “a big bunch of woofters” in one of his podcasts.
He’s the self-declared Caliph of the new Islamic State stretching across Iraq and Syria, and a man who even Al Qaeda think is “a bit much”.
But what else do we know about the former ISIS front man?
1 – Began at ISIS as an 18-year-old intern in 1989 and worked his way up to become its youngest CEO at just 38.
2 – Married his childhood sweetheart Zoe in 1991. Together they have three children, Jack, four, and twins Lucy and Abu Jnr, two.
3 – Holds an International MBA from Tel Aviv University, where he was vice-captain of the debating society and wrote for the student newspaper.
4 – Was an early investor in social media platform Twitter and is believed to have made almost $11 million when the company went public in 2012.
5 – Claimed responsibility for an attack in Northern Iraq in 2011 that killed 19 policemen, but later said he had just been joking and it wasn’t actually him at all.
6 – Is described as being a direct descendent of the Prophet Muhammad, but is a far closer direct descendant of his parents, Michael and Janice al-Baghdadi, who run a dry cleaning business in Samarra.
7 – Despite imposing a strict interpretation of Sharia law across his captured territories, Amr keeps things very relaxed in his own home, where he has installed a cinema screen, bar and Jacuzzi for ISIS soldiers to chill out after a big fight.
8 – On top of being the first Caliph since the Ottoman Empire, Abu was the first among his classmates to go to second base with a girl, believed to be Tracy Bingham at an under-18s disco in Baghdad in 1986.
9 – Has said he hopes to expand his Islamic State’s borders beyond Iraq and Syria and into the Gulf, Jordan, Palestine, Turkey and the Spanish island of Ibiza.
10 – Abu fell out with Al Qaeda boss Ayman Al-Zawahiri earlier this year after describing the global terror network as being “a big bunch of woofters” in one of his podcasts.
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