Global News

The Islamic State group has released Monday a video recording showing its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, whose whereabouts remain unknown.

Analysis

In August, ISIS released a new militant audio recording, purportedly of al-Baghdadi, his first in almost a year.

In the audio, al-Baghdadi urges followers to “persevere” and continue fighting the group’s enemies everywhere.

The audio’s authenticity could not be independently verified and there were no clues as to where it was recorded.

The question of whether al-Baghdadi is dead or alive has been a continuing source of mystery and confusion. He is believed to be hiding somewhere in the desert that stretches across the Syrian-Iraqi border region. 

Al-Baghdadi has only appeared in public once in 2014 in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. There have been recurring reports of his death or injury, including reports by Russian officials last year who said there was a “high probability” that al-Baghdadi was killed in a Russian airstrike on the outskirts of the Syrian city of Raqqa.

Source:
https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/isis/isis-releases-first-video-of-leader-baghdadi-in-five-years-1.7182356?utm_source=Push_Notification&utm_medium=web_push&utm_campaign=General