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Abu Haitham al-Obaidi, deputy mayor in the North Iraq town of Hawija, is reported to have appointed himself as “Caliph” of the terrorist group.

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed yesterday it “had information” that al-Baghdadi was killed in a Russian airstrike in Raqqa, Syria.

War chief Al-Obaidi is said to have “dissented” from the group and staked his claim to power in the wake of al-Baghdadi’s death.

Jabbar al-Maamouri, a leader of Iraqi-government backed militia Popular Mobilization Forces, spoke of the leadership struggle in a statement to Alsumaria News.

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He said: “Abu Haitham al-Obaidi, deputy to the [ISIS] mayor of Hawija, dissented from the group and named himself a new Caliph after Baghdadi’s death reports were confirmed.”

Al-Obaidi – a senior military leader – made off with dozens of his loyalists to the west of Hawija, al-Maamouri said.

He is preparing for a “decisive” battle with other leadership contenders as ISIS look to regroup after being defeated in Mosul, he said.

He said: “Hawija is bracing for a bloody infighting among IS members, the most violent since the group took over Hawija in June 2014.”

An ISIS broadcast service in Hawija is reported to have announced the death of al-Baghdadi and plans to name his successor.

But moves to officially appoint a new leader appear to have been thrown into chaos as senior ISIS figures break ranks and prepare to mount their own bids.

Al-Baghdadi’s death lead to the arrest of dissidents and a curfew in Hawija after infighting broke out between senior ISIS members, Alsumaria News reported.

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Rami Abdel Rahman, director for the SOHR, said al-Baghdadi’s death was confirmed by “top tier commanders”.

He explained: “We learned of it today but we do not know when he died or how.”

Last month Russia claimed it had taken out the Daesh leader in an airstrike on the death cult’s de facto capital of Raqqa in northern Syria.

At the end of June an Iranian military source backed up these claims, confirming al-Baghdadi had been taken out.

Ali Shirazi, a representative of Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard, said “terrorist al-Baghdadi is definitely dead” without elaborating.

There have been numerous false statements claiming al-Baghdadi has been killed in the past.