The chief of staff to Iraqi Kurdistan�s President said that leader of Daesh terror group Abu Bakr Baghdadi is still hiding in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) � Leader of�the Islamic State (ISIL, also known as�Daesh) terror group Abu Bakr Baghdadi is still hiding in�the northern Iraqi city of�Mosul, Fuad Hussein, chief of�staff to�Iraqi Kurdistan�s President Masoud Barzani, said. �Baghdadi is there and, if he is killed, it will mean the collapse of�the whole [Daesh] system,� Hussein told the Independent media outlet on�Tuesday citing Iraqi government sources. He noted that after�Baghdadi�s death Daesh terrorists would have to�choose a new leader amid�the ongoing battle for�Mosul but�any new leader would not have authority and prestige of�Baghdadi.

Hussein also said that the presence of�Baghdadi in�Mosul would complicate the operation aimed at�liberation of�the city as�Daesh terrorists would fight to�death to�defend their leader.

�It is obvious that they will lose, but�not how long this will take to�happen,� he added. The operation to�retake Mosul from�Daesh, a jihadist group outlawed in�a large number of�countries, has been ongoing since�October 17. More than�30,000 Iraqi and 4,000 Kurdish fighters are taking part in�the offensive supported by�US-led coalition airstrikes. Mosul has been occupied by�Daesh since�2014.

By Sputnik