THE “disabled” leader of ISIS Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has handed over control of the death cult to an ex-Saddam henchman known as The Professor.

Baghdadi, who is in hiding and plotting the group's comeback, has promoted Abdullah Qardash to oversee the rebuild, according to the terror group's propaganda arm Amaq.

Abdullah Qardash, a former officer in Saddam Husein's military, is reportedly the new leader of ISIS Credit: Twitter

The power shift has led to further speculation that the bearded terror boss was left badly wounded in a 2017 air strike.

Qardash is a former officer in Saddam Hussein’s army who grew close to Baghdadi, 48, when they were both jailed in Basra by US forces for their links to al-Qaeda in 2003.

It was in the Iraqi prison that Baghdadi became a jihadist demagogue converting hundreds of prisoners to his sick vision of a so-called caliphate.

Qardash, whose age is unknown, is believed to have worked alongside him ever since, reports The Times.

The Iraqi worked as the brainwashed death cult’s top legislator before his promotion to leader, it has been reported.

His nickname is the Professor and is known as a ruthless policymaker in the group.

Qardash was also a confidante of Abu Alaa al-Afri, Baghdadi’s previous deputy, who was killed in a US helicopter gun raid in 2016.

Baghdadi reportedly only has a small circle of followers left and is suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure.

He is also believed to have been paralysed in a coalition airstrike in May 2017 and hiding out in deserts in eastern Syria.

On April 29, video footage emerged showing the terror chief for the first time in almost five years.

Baghdadi, who is believed to be badly wounded following an air strike, is hiding out in the Syrian desert, it has been reported Credit: Reuters

ISIS leader Baghdadi only has a small circle of followers remaining Credit: AP:Associated Press

Experts say he has chosen the Professor to manage the terror group’s rebuild – after it was all but wiped out in Syria and Iraq.

Since the fall of Baghuz, ISIS’s last urban stronghold in March, the group has been reduced to pockets of resistance across the two countries.

Fadhel Abo Ragheef, former security analyst with the Iraqi government, said: “Baghdadi isn’t giving up his position. Qardash has a specific authorisation for logistics and movement.

“There are three likely reasons that he authorised another leader: to lock down the holes inside the organisation, or to unite with Qardash, who is popular among other Isis members.

“He may also be trying to prepare Qardash to lead Isis in the future.”

Qardash faces a divided leadership, some of whom may reject his vision and strategy, reports The Times.

With its members scattered in cells across a huge sweep of desert that spans two countries, three main factions have emerged, gathered around Tunisian, Saudi and Iraqi leadership.

Security forces across the region have warned that the remaining cells are strong enough to launch attacks and are ready to step into any power vacuum.

Mr Ragheef believes that Qardash’s promotion could reinvigorate the sick death cult.

He said: “The attacks will not increase with Qardash’s new leadership but they will be more specific,”

“They have a lot of power over large lands, even though their funds have been reduced.”

ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi 'seen in new video for the first time in five years'

Who is Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi? The terror chief is believed to have been born in Samarra, north of Iraqi capital Baghdad, in 1971.

He was reportedly a cleric in a mosque when the city was invaded by US-led forces in 2003.

While reports differ on when al-Baghdadi was radicalised, it has been suggested that he was brainwashed in Camp Bucca, a US prison in southern Iraq.

He was previously the leader of extremist group al-Qaeda in Iraq which eventually transformed into ISIS in 2010.

Al-Baghdadi’s first public appearance on video was in 2014 when he delivered a sermon in Mosul, Iraq.

The so-called “caliphate” had been declared by the sinister terror chief and his followers earlier that year.

Nicknamed the “invisible sheikh”, al-Baghdadi reportedly wears a mask while speaking to his sick band of thugs, reports the BBC.

Before September, 2017, the last known message from al-Baghdadi was in December, 2016.

Since the terror boss' disappearance, ISIS have suffered heavy defeats in Iraq, Syria and Libya - including losing control of Mosul in July, 2017.

There have also been numerous unsubstantiated reports of the death cult leader's demise over the years.

In November reports emerged out of Iraq that Baghdadi had fled the country in a yellow taxi while at the same time ordering remaining militants to fight to the death.

An intelligence source told the Iraqi Media News Agency how the terror chief picked out the unusual vehicle in a bid to avoid suspicion.

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