KABUL – The leader of militant ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi may be hiding outin a remote region of Afghanistan after fleeing middle-east, according to afamed Pakistani security expert.

The ISIS chief is believed to have fled Iraq or Syria where the group faceddebacle to join the Afghanistan faction where other leaders have alsogathered; the Afghanistan offshoot is termed Islamic State- KhorasanProvince or simply IS-KP.

The expert Zaid Hamid, a founding member of the BrassTacks threat analysisthink tank, also wondered whether a recent video of Baghdadi was filmed inAfghanistan.

In a series of tweets, Hamid claimed to have unearthed the plans of thegroup adding that the US needed ISIS in Afghanistan.

The expert also gave reasons to bolster his claims about the presence ofBaghdadi in war-battered Afghanistan.

Zaid Hamid’s claim disputes the one made by Husham al-Hashmi, an Iraqiexpert in extremist groups, who believes al-Baghdadi is still Syria or Iraq.

He said his location can be narrowed down to just four locations followinghis first video appearance.

Speaking with the Rudaw news outlet, Hashmi said: “Iraq since September2018 through a special cell formed with US Special Operations Command hasbeen monitoring, looking for al-Baghdadi.