Abed al-Rachman Mustapha, a onetime physics professor who is also known as Abu Alaa al-Afri, has been appointed the successor to  Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), The Jerusalem Post reported Sunday. Al-Afri was promoted to the post after an emergency meeting convened by al-Baghdadi, who was severely injured in a U.S.-led strike on the terror group in March of this year.

Dr Hisham al Hashimi, adviser to the Iraqi prime minister on matters concerning the Islamic State, said that “Afri is the most powerful man in the organization after al-Baghdadi himself.” He continued by saying that al-Afri is “more important, and smarter, and with better relationships. He is a good public speaker and strong charisma.”

“All the leaders of (ISIS) find that he has much jihadi wisdom, and good capability at leadership and administration,” he added.

According to al Hashimi, al Afri was a former physics teacher professor who was born in the city of al-Khidr, an estimated 80 kilometers south of Mosul, and helped establish what would later become the Islamic State while serving as a senior commander within al-Qaida in Iraq.

Rumors about potential successors and the extent of al-Baghdadi’s injuries have been circulating for weeks.

According to The Guardian, the severely injured al-Baghdadi is in a hideout in Mosul and is being treated by two sympathetic physicians.

[Photo: wochit News / YouTube ]