A man purported to be the reclusive leader of the militant Islamic State Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has made what would be his first public appearance
A man purported to be the reclusive leader of the militant Islamic State Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has made what would be his first public appearance at a mosque in the centre of Iraq's second city, Mosul, according to a video recording posted on the Internet on July 5, 2014, in this still image taken from video. There had previously been reports on social media that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi would make his first public appearance since his Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) changed its name to the Islamic State and declared him caliph. The Iraqi government denied that the video, which carried Friday's date, was credible. It was also not possible to immediately confirm the authenticity of the recording or the date when it was made. REUTERS/Social Media Website v

Most of the Islamic State masterminds were imprisoned in a U.S. prison in Iraq. However, all of them were freed that allowed them to form the militant organisation in the Middle East.

Camp Bucca released hundreds of prisoners who had earlier been arrested along the Kuwait border of Iraq in 2009. The prisoners included some of the most noted jihadists of the Iraq War. Families celebrated the release of their loved ones. However, not everyone was happy about it as the freed prisoners allegedly included people like Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Police Chief Saad Abbas Mahmoud suspected that around 90 percent of the released prisoners would resume fighting soon. He told The Washington Post that neither the Iraqi government nor the authorities was aware of the gravity of the issue.

Mahmoud's suspicion turned out to be true. It was al-Baghdadi aka Amir al-Mu'minin who was declared as the leader of the Islamic State after his predecessor Abu Omar al-Baghdadi had passed away. Several soldiers, former prison commanders and analysts believe it was Camp Bucca where the radical jihadists collaborated with each other. It was also the place where several other prisoners were radicalised. According to many, Camp Bucca is the birth place of Islamic State, arguably the most challenging extremist force in the Middle East.

Fox News' Jeanine Pirro earlier called al-Baghdadi as the "new Osama Bin Laden." She said that the man started ISIS a years after he had been released. She claimed that it was U.S. President Barack Obama who freed the militant leader. However, the U.S. Defense Department told PunditFact that al-Baghdadi had actually been released in December 2004, long before Obama took office. While the Pentagon confirmed that al-Baghdadi had been held at Camp Bucca for less than a year, it said that a Combined Review and Release Board had recommended his "unconditional release" from the U.S. custody. It was also said that he had never been captured again since his release.

Soufan Group claimed that at least nine top IS leaders did time at Camp Bucca. The terrorist analyst group said that al-Baghdadi had spent five years at the detention centre. Other top leaders like Abu Muslim al-Turkmani, Abu Qasim and late Haji Bakr did time at Bucca, it claimed.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au