The Islamic State Caliph, while instructing all his devout Muslim followers to choose martyrdom over surrender, has fled the besieged city of Rawa, Iraq in a yellow cab.

Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has reportedly fled from Iraq to Syria in a yellow taxi in a bid to avoid drawing suspicion.

An intelligence source claimed the terror group's chief was hiding out in Rawa, northwestern Iraq, when troops entered Qaim some 50 miles away near the Syrian border.

Al-Baghdadi felt his presence in Rawa 'threatened his life', so he scampered over the border to Deir ez-Zor in a vehicle synonymous with the western world of New York City.