The elusive chief of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) group Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi who is considered a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the United States has appeared in footage on the militant group’s al-Furqan media network.
Abu has not been seen since 2014, when he proclaimed from Mosul the creation of a “caliphate” across parts of Syria and Iraq.
Huge. #ISIS releases 18 minute long video of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi where he says that Easter bombings in Sri Lanka were ISIS response to losses in its last territorial stronghold of Baghouz in Syria. Last video of Baghdadi was from grand Al-Nuri mosque of Mosul in July, 2014. pic.twitter.com/v6zYnbFQMA— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) April 29, 2019
ISIL’s Al Furqan media network published on Monday what it said was a video message from its leader, in which he said the group would seek revenge for the killing and imprisonment of its fighters.
It was unclear when the footage was filmed but al-Baghdadi referred in the past tense to the months-long fight for Baghouz, ISIL’s final bastion in eastern Syria, that ended last month.
A US State Department spokesman said the tapes would be inspected by analysts to ascertain their authenticity, adding that the US-led coalition remains committed to ensuring any IS “leaders who remain are delivered the justice that they deserve”.
Wearing a black robe with a beige vest, al-Baghdadi gave an 18-minute address.
The SITE Intelligence group said he also discussed the bombings in Sri Lanka that killed more than 250 people on Easter Sunday in an audio recording after the video ends.
“Your brothers in Sri Lanka have healed the hearts of monotheists [ISIL members] with their suicide bombings, which shook the beds of the crusaders during Easter to avenge your
brothers in Baghouz,” he said.
Baghdadi says the Easter Sunday Sri Lanka attacks were carried out as revenge for the fall of the Iraqi town of Baghuz.
He also says that he has had pledges of allegiance from militants in Burkina Faso and Mali, and talks about the protests in Sudan and Algeria – claiming that jihad is the only solution to “tyrants”. Both countries have seen their long-term rulers overthrown this month.
Baghdadi – an Iraqi whose real name is Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim al-Badri – was last heard from in an audio recording last August.
At the time, he appeared to be trying to shift attention away from his group’s crippling losses, BBC Middle East correspondent Martin Patience says.