Baghdadi calls on followers to wage war
IS chief urges fighters to target enemies in recording
BeiRuT: The leader of the Islamic State group Abu Bakr al- Baghdadi ( pic) called on Muslims to wage war in a purported new audio recording.
He also called for attacks in the West in the Telegram message on Eid al-Adha, which comes as IS has lost most of its territory in Iraq and Syria.
It is the first purported recording of the IS leader to be released since September last year.
“Those who forget their religion, patience, jihad against their enemies, and their certainty in the creator’s promise lose and are disgraced,” the leader said.
“But when they hold on to it, they are mighty and victorious, even if after a certain time.”
IS overran large swathes of Syria and neighbouring Iraq in 2014, proclaiming a “caliphate” in areas they controlled.
But they have since lost most of that to various offensives in both countries.
The “caliphate will remain, God willing”, Baghdadi however said in Wednesday’s recording, addressing followers in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. It was not clear when the message was recorded, but Baghdadi appeared to criticise a US$100mil (RM410mil) pledge by Saudi Arabia last week to help rebuild Syria’s northeast.
He threatened the United States and Russia, which have both backed offensives against IS, saying that the fighters had prepared “horrors” for them.
Speaking of Syria, he criticised rebel fighters for agreeing to surrender deals with the Damascus regime, and called on opposition fighters to join his group.
The IS chief made his only known public appearance in Iraq’s second city of Mosul in July 2014. He has been pronounced dead on several occasions, but Iraqi intelligence said in May that he remains alive in Syrian territory by the Iraqi border.
Baghdadi is said to move around with only a small group of followers.
Originally from Iraq, Baghdadi has been dubbed the “most wanted man on the planet” and the United States is offering a US$25mil (RM102.5mil) reward for his capture. —