Another American military official who analyzes ISIS said that under the pressure of airstrikes and internal strife, members with titles like emir and wali now gain rank through attrition, not design. \u201cWe watch the deck shuffle constantly, as they attempt to determine who will fit a role that has been vacated,\u201d\u009d he said, \u201cvacated\u201d\u009d being a euphemism for \u201ckilled.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
Whatever Mr. Aboud\u2019s eventual fate, his relative said, much of the legacy was already known. The recording of Mr. Aboud singing \u201d\u201d coolly in tune as he described killing old friends \u201d\u201d was a marker of a man lost to crime, a revolution soured and a people betrayed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis violence, his assassinations, his killing people \u201d\u201d he is really behind this,\u201d\u009d he said. \u201cIt is a mess now. Everything we have is a mess.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n