A “specially-formed elite military unit” consisting of approximately 100 CIA personnel and a collection of Special Forces operatives is reportedly on the hunt for ISIS head Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

On June 29 Breitbart News reported ISIS declared a new state out of captured lands in Iraq and Syria. They subsequently changed their name to the Islamic State (IS) and chose al-Baghdadi for chief of state. 

Forty-two-year-old al-Baghdadi stepped into the role of “caliph,” saying he would be a “leader for Muslims everywhere.”

IS “called on Al Qaeda and other radical Sunni militants in the region to immediately pledge their allegiance.”

Since that time, thousands of innocents have been “slaughtered” as IS continues its push through northern Iraq, and untold numbers of religious minorities – such as the Yazidis – have been cornered and trapped like animals, left to starve and or die of dehydration. 

According to the Mirror, the “specially-formed elite military unit” hunting al-Baghdadi marks “the biggest counter-terror search since the [United States] tracked down and killed al-Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden in 2011.”

To date, al-Baghdadi has proven so elusive that CIA and Special Forces have dubbed him “the Ghost.” However, an unnamed source says al-Baghdadi’s need to communicate with his 25,000-strong army will eventually lead to his capture. That source said, “His forces are stretched so phone calls will be made – that will be his weak point.” 

After IS captured Mosul on June 10, they executed clerics whom they believed were “too moderate.” Less than a month after the executions, al-Baghdadi lead prayers and spoke in a mosque where one of the slain clerics had presided.  

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.