British spies believe ISIS chief Al Baghdadi fled Mosul as Iraqi forces stormed terror city, Boris Johnson dramatically reveals
Boris Johnson said intelligence believe that Baghdadi had "vacated the scene" but did not say where the Islamic State leader might be
INTELLIGENCE sources say the leader of Islamic State Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is not in Mosul, Boris Johnson has said.
It comes after a recording of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was released earlier this week in which he issued a rallying cry to his fighters to "liberate" Mosul.
He urged militants to fight to hold on to the city which is the subject of a massive offensive as forces try to dislodge Daesh from its final remaining urban stronghold in Iraq.
Addressing parliament about the chilling audio recording, Foreign Secretary Boris said: "It is a cruel irony that some of the intelligence we have, you may know, suggests that the gentleman in question has actually vacated the scene himself and is nonetheless using internet media to encourage people to take part in violence."
He added that the fight against ISIS in Mosul would take time and represented “the coalition’s greatest challenge” to drive the terror group out from Mosul and surrounding areas.
Iraqi forces had hoped to 'pick off' fleeing jihadi warlords as they are funnelled into kill zone.
But it is now suspected they could be escaping under their noses via tunnels dug out by Mad Max style drill machines.
Iraqi special forces stormed into Mosul's eastern outskirts on Tuesday after two weeks of advances through surrounding IS-held territory.
They continued to take control of the area despite a pair of attempted car bomb attacks on their positions Thursday.
The city of more than one million people and the surrounding territory fell to IS fighters during the militant group's surprise attack in June 2014.
In his disturbing recording, Baghdadi said: "Oh you who seek martyrdom! Start your actions! Turn the night of the disbelievers into day," he says in Arabic. "Totally decimate their territories, and make their blood flow like rivers."
Bakr al-Baghdadi is the second most-wanted man in the world after al-Qaeda ’s Ayman al-Zawahiri and has a huge bounty on his head of £8million.
He is believed to be holed up with ISIS bombmaker Fawzi Ali Nouimeh, raising fears of a network of more booby-trap bombs throughout the stricken city.
The anti-ISIS offensive is dependent on US-led air strikes and the presence of US special forces.
“I assure you that the Iraqi Army and the Peshmerga do not move one millimetre forward without American permission and coordination,” said one Kurdish observer.
He did not think that the battle for Mosul would necessarily go on a long time.
But it is increasingly difficult for the 3,000 to 5,000 Isis fighters in Mosul and the 1,500 to 2,500 on the outskirts to escape, even if they wanted to.
