--- title: Watch Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's Year in Review | TIME description: Watch Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Year in Review canonical: https://time.com/video/o1cDNRwR/ og:title: Watch Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's Year in Review og:description: Watch Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Year in Review og:url: https://time.com/video/o1cDNRwR/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/o1cDNRwR/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's Year in Review twitter:description: Watch Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Year in Review twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/o1cDNRwR/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # Watch Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's Year in Review > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: Watch Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's Year in Review [Watch (HLS stream): Watch Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's Year in Review](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/o1cDNRwR.m3u8) (3:13)  _Published 2015-12-09. Watch Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Year in Review_ --- Jul 27, 2023 7:17 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [Wife of Slain Islamic State Leader Al-Baghdadi Captured, Says Turkey](/video/Q1e9tBZj/) ### Wife of Slain Islamic State Leader Al-Baghdadi Captured, Says Turkey [Russia Claims Airstrike May Have Killed ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi](/video/pqV9Wh9x/) ### Russia Claims Airstrike May Have Killed ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi [ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Threatens Israel In Latest Message](/video/pHoOXtcH/) ### ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Threatens Israel In Latest Message --- ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] When Barak Obama came to power in 2008, Al Qaeda was the dominant jihadist group in the Middle East. But its core leadership has been decimated in the years since. Drone strikes and special ops targeted militants in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Yemen. Al Kaida lost its spiritual leader, Osama bin Laden, in 2011. Into the vacuum stepped another figure, ISIS leader, Abu Bakar, al Baghdadi. [ FOREIGN ] There are few images of him, but his influence has changed the face of Islamic extremism, and inspired a deadly new threat to the region, and to the West. Baghdadi rose in the ranks of an Al Qaeda offshoot, Al Qaeda in Iraq. The native Iraqi has a PhD in Islamic Studies, and became a proven leader a generation apart from the older order of Al Qaeda leaders. Al Qaeda and its Iraqi branch coexisted until 2013, when one voice recording changed everything. [ FOREIGN ] Baghdadi released this audio message. Announcing the official creation of ISIS. His intention was to extend his power from Iraq to Northern Syria in defiance of Al Qaeda's leadership. Al Qaeda dissociated itself from ISIS and the new group dedicated itself to building an Islamic state with Baghdadi as its self- styled Caliph. In the years since, ISIS has grown into both an army and a movement. It's followers now control entire cities in Iraq and Northern Syria. Imposing a medieval form of Islamic law on scores of helpless civilians. Young Muslims from some 90 countries have joined the [ SOUND ] They are both defending the Islamic state from the American lead coalition determined to stamp it out, and now attacking its enemies abroad. [ MUSIC ] Deadly attacks in late 2015 represented the scaling up of a new more insidious threat. Individual or small groups of extremists, often radicalized from afar committing acts of brutality in the name of ISIS. These bloody unpredictable attacks have helped Baghdadi's groups eclipse Al Qaeda in the public's mind as its foremost threat to the west. Baghdadi however keeps a low profile, befitting a man sometimes called the invisible shake. He has stayed in the shadows as his sphere of influence has grown. With only the occasional radio You address to the faithful. Rumors suggesting he died in a coalition air strike earlier this year have never been confirmed. His current whereabouts are unknown, but his message is stronger than ever. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Watch Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's Year in Review","description":"Watch Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Year in Review","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/o1cDNRwR/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-12-09T12:07:12.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/o1cDNRwR.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/video/o1cDNRwR/","duration":"PT3M13S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/video/o1cDNRwR/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}} ```