ISIS Prisoner Says al-Baghdadi’s Death Will Lead to Terror Attacks in Europe

ISIS Prisoner Says al-Baghdadi’s Death Will Lead to Terror Attacks in Europe
This file image made from video posted on a militant website April 29, 2019, purports to show the leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, being interviewed by his group's Al-Furqan media outlet. (Al-Furqan media via AP, File)
Zachary Stieber
10/30/2019
Updated:
10/30/2019

An ISIS militant who is imprisoned in Iraq claimed that the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi will lead to terror attacks in European countries.

Al-Baghdadi killed himself when his compound in Syria was raided by U.S. Special Forces over the weekend. President Donald Trump said the terror leader was “whimpering and crying” just before he detonated an explosive vest, killing himself and three children.
Muhammed Hasik, an ISIS prisoner in Iraq, told ABC he thinks the death of al-Baghdadi will have little impact on the terror group, which has seen most of its land disappear in the past year after aggressive intervention by American and allied forces.

He also said he thinks ISIS will be attacking Europe soon, though he didn’t specify which country or countries the attacks are planned for.

Iraqi special forces arrest a fighter with Islamic State militia in Mosul, Iraq, in a file photo. (Khalid Mohammed, File/AP Photo)
Iraqi special forces arrest a fighter with Islamic State militia in Mosul, Iraq, in a file photo. (Khalid Mohammed, File/AP Photo)

The last attack claimed by ISIS in Europe took place in Dec. 2018, when a man shot 16 people in Strasbourg, killing five.

The previous one took place in May 2018, when Benjamin Herman killed two female police officers in Belgium. Herman was killed and ISIS claimed responsibility.

The terror group also claimed responsibility for a January terror attack in the Philippines that left some 22 people dead and injured over 100 others, and a terror attack on Easter that left over 250 dead in Sri Lanka.

Policemen and soldiers keep watch in a cordoned area outside a church in Jolo, Sulu province on the southern island of Mindanao, Philippines, on Jan. 27, 2019. (Nickee Butlangan/AFP/Getty Images)
Policemen and soldiers keep watch in a cordoned area outside a church in Jolo, Sulu province on the southern island of Mindanao, Philippines, on Jan. 27, 2019. (Nickee Butlangan/AFP/Getty Images)

Asked for his reaction to al-Baghdadi’s death, Hasik told ABC: “I don’t really care ... when another one dies another pops up. How much you kill, another one comes. This is the game they play. The Americans play this game and the Islamic State plays this game.”

He said the death of the leader makes “no difference,” except it could make the situation worse.

Hasik expressed no remorse for what ISIS has done, including carrying out beheadings, rapes, slavery, and a number of terror attacks around the world.

“I didn’t write their destiny,” he said about the victims, which include American Kayla Mueller. “This is their destiny.”

“I was just a policeman,” he added. “We just caught people doing drugs and things like that. I was just doing a job. This war is dirty. And I’m fed up with war. I want to live a normal life with my family and kids.”