ISIS Releases Audio Msg of Leader Baghdadi, Indicating He’s Alive

The audio came after several reports claimed that IS leader Abu Bakr-al Baghdadi had been killed

Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

(Photo: Reuters)

Islamic State leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi has exhorted followers across the world to wage attacks against the West and to keep fighting in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere.

The message released on Thursday was his first purported audio communication in almost a year during which his jihadist group lost much of its self-proclaimed "caliphate".

The audio, partly dedicated to religious scriptures, came after several reports claiming that Baghdadi had been killed. His last recording was in November 2016, two weeks after the start of the battle to recapture the city of Mosul from Islamic State (IS).

Oh Soldiers of the Caliphate, fan the flames of war on your enemies, take it to them and besiege them in every corner, and stand fast and courageous.

Baghdadi

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"Beware of retreat, or the feeling of defeat, beware of negotiations or surrender. Do not lay down your arms," Baghdadi said, referring to followers in Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, North Africa and elsewhere in Africa.

The date of the 46-minute recording, released via the Al-Furqan news organisation, was not clear.

But in it, Baghdadi makes an apparent reference to recent events including North Korean threats against Japan and United States and the recapture two months ago of Mosul by US-backed Iraqi forces.

Baghdadi also called for attacks on Western media, saying:

Oh soldiers of Islam in every location, increase blow after blow, and make the media centres of the infidels, from where they wage their intellectual wars, among the targets. Continue your Jihad and your blessed operations and do not let the crusaders rest in their homes and enjoy life and stability while your brethren are being shelled and killed.

Baghdadi

The fall of Mosul in July effectively marked the end of the Iraqi half of Baghdadi's "caliphate" even though Islamic State continues to fight in some territory outside of Mosul, the largest city they came to control in both Iraq and Syria.

"With God's will and his strength, we are staying determined, patient...The abundance of killing will not stop us," Baghdadi said in the audio recording.

Officials have said they believed it could take years to capture or kill Baghdadi as he is thought to be hiding in a vast swathe of a sparsely-populated desert between Mosul and Raqqa, where attacking drones are easy to spot.

The United States has offered a 25 million dollars bounty for information that would locate Baghdadi.

Russia's defence ministry said earlier this year it might have killed Baghdadi in an air strike on a gathering of IS commanders on the outskirts of Raqqa. But US officials said they could not corroborate the death and other Western as well as Iraqi officials were sceptical.

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(This article has been edited for length)