All the times ISIS’ leader was declared killed in action

The 'caliph' of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi recently lost his son in combat in Syria — but no one really cares about that. The Syrians and Russians were probably hoping to ice his reclusive father, who is probably the world's most wanted man at the moment.

Unfortunately, the only problem is that the world has "killed" that guy before — several times over. Baghdadi has survived more unbelievable attacks than anyone in any Fast and Furious movie ever.

The reward for killing or capturing Baghdadi currently sits at a cool $25 million, but even offering that kind of reward hasn't led to conclusive intelligence on where and when to hit the reclusive leader.

Baghdadi gets lucky once more.

March 18, 2015

Baghdadi was struck by coalition aircraft while straddling the border between Iraq and Syria. This led to ISIS' need to have a serious talk about who replaces Baghdadi if he dies. His physics teacher stood in as caliph of ISIS while he recovered from his "serious wounds."

In real life, the coalition confirmed the strike happened but had zero reason to believe Baghdadi was hit. Later, ISIS leaks news of a spinal injury on the caliph that left him paralyzed. While the extent of his injuries weren't really known (like... is he actually paralyzed? And why would ISIS tell anyone?), militants vowed revenge for the attempt on his life.

And he really wasn't even in the convoy.

October 11, 2015

The Iraqi Air Force claims they hit a convoy carrying Baghdadi in Anbar Province on its way to an ISIS meeting, which was also bombed. After the IAF declared his death, rumors that Baghdadi wasn't even in the convoy began to swirl.

Because he was still alive.

Someone in ISIS probably died in that airstrike, it just wasn't him.

June 9, 2016

Iraqi television declared that Baghdadi was wounded by U.S. aircraft in Northern Iraq. No one confirmed this, which, if you think about it, could just happen every day. He's survived before only to be bombed and then "bombed" again later — just like he did this time around.

Maybe it was a slow news day for Iraqi TV.

Another miraculous escape from U.S. aircraft.

June 14, 2016

Islamic news agencies reported the leader's death at the hands of coalition aircraft, but the United States asserts it cannot support that claim (but it would welcome such news). The strike supposedly hit the leader's hideout in Raqqa in an attempt to decapitate the Islamic State.

Tackling the ISIS problem head on.

October 3, 2016

The ISIS caliph was supposedly poisoned by a "mystery assassin" in Iraq and the terrorist group immediately began a purge of his inner circle, looking for the mysterious poisoner. Baghdadi and three others are said to have suffered from the poisoning, but little is known about the aftermath.

Literally never happened.

May 28, 2017

This time, Russia gets credit for icing the caliph. The Russian Defense Ministry investigated if Su-34 and Su-35 aircraft near Raqqa actually managed to kill Baghdadi. The mission of the sorties was to behead the terror group by taking out a number of important leaders, including Baghdadi if possible. The Syrian Observatory for human rights, however, reported that no such airstrike even happened that day.

June 10, 2017

Just four days after allied forces begin an assault on Raqqa, Syrian state television says Baghdadi was killed by a massive U.S. artillery barrage aimed at the ISIS capital while visiting ISIS headquarters in the Syrian city.

Gotta catch him first.

June 23, 2017

A Russian politician claimed Baghdadi's death at the hands of Russian aircraft. Iranian state media backed up these claims. A few days later, a representative of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei "confirmed" the death of ISIS' leader. Iraq and the United States say they cannot corroborate the news.

He survived so many airstrikes I'm running out of Fast and Furious references.

July 11, 2017

Chinese state newspaper Xinhua reported that ISIS confirmed the death of Baghdadi in the Iraqi city of Tal Afar and that a new caliph would be announced soon. This announcement came in the days following the recapture of Mosul by Iraqi forces. Kurdish leaders disagree with the assessment.

The manhunt is on.

As 2018 came around, coalition spies were able to track the elusive leader to specific places on three separate occasions. Each time, he was able to slip away. His current status, whether he's still in hiding or even alive at all, is unknown by most.