For the jihadists of the Islamic State (IS) organization, the death of Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi is "a moral blow", but with no immediate effect on their operations on the ground. "For the moment, the jihadists have not recognized themselves [the death of Baghdadi] and it's 'business as usual'," said Wassim Nasr, a specialist in jihadist movements on France 24. The movement , consisting of a network of autonomous local groups, continues to recognize operations in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq: "For them, it's as if nothing had happened".
"It's a moral blow," said Wassim Nasr. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has indeed had the longest life at the head of the Islamic State organization and has given it its international scale. "He put IS back in the saddle when he took over, the Americans had just killed his predecessor Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and the IS was very weak." He then exported this ideology beyond the Iraqi borders by turning it into a sort of "global brand" that today competes with Al Qaeda.
Today, the group remains active in Lake Chad, the Sahel, Yemen, Somalia, Afghanistan and the Philippines.