The head of the Islamic State appears in a video for the first time in 5 years
April 29, 2019
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the Islamic State terrorist group, appeared for the first time in five years in a propaganda video released Monday. He talks about the loss of the last territory of his organization, at the end of March in Syria.
His situation remained uncertain, his death announced several times without being officially confirmed. The head of the Islamic State (IS) group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is believed to have appeared for the first time in five years in a propaganda video broadcast by the jihadist organization on Monday. The date on which this video was shot is not known but the one being presented as the Daesh leader declares “the battle for Baghouz is now over”, in reference to the last cut of the ultraradical group that fell on March 23, 2019 in eastern Syria.
The man, sitting cross-legged on a cushion, claims that ISIS “will take revenge” on behalf of its killed members and that the fight against the West is “a long battle”. Addressing three men whose faces were blurred, he promises other actions of the IS “after this battle”. He appears with a long gray beard that seems to be henna-colored and speaks softly, pausing for a few seconds in the middle of his sentences.
Only one appearance so far, in 2014
The last message attributed to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was an audio recording broadcast in August 2018. The jihadi leader first appeared in public in Mosul, northern Iraq, in 2014, where he proclaimed the “caliphate” of the IS. According to experts, the most wanted man in the world is hiding in the Syrian desert.
The fall of the “caliphate” of Daesh was announced on March 23 after the conquest of the ultimate stronghold of jihadists in eastern Syria, after an offensive by Arab and Kurdish fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces, supported by a coalition led by the United States. Iraq declared “victory” over ISIS in December 2017. The United States is offering $ 25 million for the capture of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
(with AFP)
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