Isil faces the future without Baghdadi – one it has long planned for

The death of Isil leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi came as a shock to his followers on Sunday, but not a surprise.

They had been meticulously planning for his demise for some time.

A fearsome ideologue who tried to spark a war of civilisation between Islam and the West, a man who created the most brutal terrorist group in modern history and ordered the genocide of the Yazidi people, Baghdadi’s legacy will not be forgotten in a hurry.

But he spawned something much bigger that will likely outlive him.