ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Video footage purportedly showing Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, head of the Islamic State (ISIS) group, emerged on jihadist social media platforms on Monday afternoon, his first public appearance in five years.
In the 18-minute clip, Baghdadi said the recent terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka, which killed more than 250 people, were an act of revenge for the group's defeat in Syria's Baghouz.
The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) seized the last sliver of ISIS territory in Syria's Baghouz, Deir ez-Zor province, on March 23.
Published by ISIS media arm Al-Furqan on messaging app Telegram, the footage shows 47-year-old Baghdadi seated next to an AK-47 assault rifle – a pose reminiscent of images of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
It is not clear when or where the footage was taken, but several contemporary references in Baghdadi's speech indicate it was very recent.
“The war of Islam and its followers against the crusaders and their followers is a long one,” Baghdadi said, claiming the group has now resumed its earlier insurgency tactics.
The battle for Baghouz demonstrated the “barbarism and brutality” of the West and the “courage, steadfastness and resilience of the nation of Islam.”
“This steadfastness shocked the hearts of the Crusaders in what increased their rage.”
He thanked ISIS fighters killed defending the group's last territorial holdout. “Their brothers will not forget their sacrifices,” he said.
He praised the group’s long reach and ability to strike at targets worldwide.
“This proves the unity, stability, vigilance, and perception of the Mujaheddin about the requirements of the war as well as their understanding of reality they live in,” he said.
He also praised foreign fighters who joined the group, calling on supporters to attack the "Crusaders" - specifically France - and welcomed recent pledges of allegiance by militant groups in Africa.
“Regarding the pledging allegiance from your brothers Burkina Faso and Mali, I congratulate them for the allegiance and their enrollment in the ranks of the caliphate,” Baghdadi said.
“We ask God Almighty to protect them and our brother Abu Walid al-Sahrawi [leader of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara], and I advise them to intensify their attacks on the Crusading France and its allies.”
In this still from an 18-minute clip posted by ISIS media on messaging app Telegram, Baghdadi is purportedly shown seated with several lieutenants. April 29, 2019. Photo: ISIS media / Telegram
Baghdadi also touched on the ongoing Algerian and Sudanese protests, calling on the protesters to embrace jihad (holy war).
“Another highlighting event was the fall of Algeria’s and Sudan’s tyrants. However, unfortunately and sadly people still do not understand why they go out [to protest] and what they want,” he said.
“The replacement of a tyrant with another tyrant brings the worst crimes and murders to Muslims. We tell them and remind them that the only path to overcome these tyrants is the jihad for the sake of Allah.”
“Jihad leads to the suppression of tyrants, and dignity and pride because only sword can be useful against tyrants. So, they have to return to God Almighty,” Baghdadi added.
The one-time “caliph” has not been seen in public since he announced the foundation of the ISIS statelet at the al-Nuri mosque in Mosul in 2014.
Several unconfirmed reports in recent years claimed he was killed in an airstrike. Others said he was hiding out in Iraq’s desert province of Anbar.
At the height of its power between 2014 and 2016, ISIS controlled an area roughly the size of Great Britain, spread across Iraq and Syria. The group was declared defeated in Iraq in December 2017. However, a spate of attacks, kidnappings, and ambushes suggest an insurgency is already underway.
This is a developing story…