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ISIS Releases Video Said to Be of Leader ISIS Releases Video Said to Be of Leader
(about 2 hours later)
BEIRUT, Lebanon — The Islamic State released a video on Monday of a man it said was Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the group’s mysterious and reclusive leader, which would mark the first time he has showed his face while addressing his followers since the early days of the terrorist group’s rampage through Iraq and Syria. BEIRUT, Lebanon — The Islamic State released a video on Monday of a man it said was its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who praised the bombers who killed more than 250 people in Sri Lanka on Easter and vowed that his group would keep fighting until “Judgment Day.”
In an 18-minute video released by an Islamic State media group and distributed by the SITE Intelligence Group, the man identified as Mr. al-Baghdadi sits on the ground in an Arab-style sitting room, speaking calmly to a group of unidentified followers with an assault rifle at his side. If the man in the video is confirmed to be Mr. al-Baghdadi, it would mark the first time he has shown his face while addressing his followers in five years, since the early days of the terrorist group’s rampage through Iraq and Syria.
He acknowledges that the group has lost its so-called caliphate in Iraq and Syria, a territory the size of Britain that it ruled as an extremist proto-state. But he said that the group’s battle with the West and its allies was far from over. In an 18-minute video released by an Islamic State media group and distributed by the SITE Intelligence Group, the man identified as Mr. al-Baghdadi sits on the ground in an Arab-style sitting room, his elbow perched on a pillow as he calmly speaks to a group of unidentified followers with an assault rifle at his side.
[Read about how ISIS lost Baghuz.] He acknowledges that the group has lost its so-called caliphate in Iraq and Syria but says that the group’s battle with the West and its allies was far from over.
“Truthfully, the battle of Islam and its people with the crusader and his people is a long battle, and the battle of Baghuz finished and manifested in it was the brutality and savagery of the nation of the cross toward the nation of Islam,” the man said, his beard grayer than when he addressed his followers from a mosque in the Iraqi city of Mosul when the group was near the summit of its power. “At the same time, it showed and manifested the courage, fortitude and persistence of the nation of Islam.” “Truthfully, the battle of Islam and its people with the crusader and his people is a long battle,” he said. He called on his followers to continue pursuing their enemies “with all of their abilities.”
According to SITE, the video was the first time Mr. al-Baghdadi has been shown in a video since July 2014, when he gave a sermon in Mosul. “Our battle today is a battle of attrition, and we will prolong it for the enemy, and they must know that the jihad will continue until Judgment Day,” he said.
In the video, SITE says, he praises the attackers who carried out the bombing attacks in Sri Lanka last week, saying they were revenge for the loss of Baghuz, the Islamic State’s last territory in Syria, which it lost to American-backed forces a month ago.
[Where ISIS ruled in Syria, fear and uncertainty still reign.][Where ISIS ruled in Syria, fear and uncertainty still reign.]
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the Sri Lanka attacks, which killed at least 250 people. The Islamic State lost the last of the territory it controlled in Iraq and Syria, the town of Baghuz, last month, but the group is believed to still have thousands of fighters there who have gone underground.
While Mr. al-Baghdadi has not been seen in several years, he has been heard from. Last August, the Islamic State released an audio recording said to be of him. As it lost territory in the Middle East, the Islamic State has expanded abroad, turning to its international affiliates to carry out attacks further afield. The coordinated bombing attack in Sri Lanka last week was one of the group’s deadliest, causing nearly twice as many deaths as the 2015 Paris attacks did.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. The video released on Monday was Mr. al-Baghdadi’s first video message to his followers since 2014, when he mounted the pulpit of the Nuri Mosque in the Iraqi city of Mosul to claim his title as caliph, or leader of the world’s Muslims, after the group had declared the caliphate. The Islamic State was then near the height of its power, when it ruled a territory the size of Britain with a population of millions of people.
The toll of the years since then show on Mr. al-Baghdadi’s face. In the video, he appears to have put on weight, and gray has spread throughout his beard, its ends dyed auburn with henna.
The video appeared to be an effort to to demonstrate that despite his group’s tremendous losses, it is still active and he is paying attention. He made passing references to the Israeli election and the toppling of longtime strongmen in Sudan and Algeria.
He also called out a number of the group’s leaders by name, mentioning fighters and operatives from Belgium, Australia and Saudi Arabia, reflecting the multinational organization it has become.
“He’s exhibiting his ‘humble and modest’ self, unlike his last appearance where he is portrayed in what may be referred to as glorious standing, empowered by his group’s achievements, essentially standing at the top of the world,” said Laith Alkhouri, senior director of Flashpoint, which tracks global terrorism. “In today’s video, he appears defeated, but for his base he’s uplifting.”
In a portion of the video where Mr. al-Baghdadi speaks but is not seen, he mentioned more recent events than the loss of the group’s territory in Syria: an attack on a security office in Zulfi, Saudi Arabia, and the bombings in Sri Lanka, which his group had already claimed.
He said the attacks had “put joy in the hearts” of jihadists by striking “the homes of the crusaders in their Easter in revenge for their brothers in Baghuz.”
Terrorism experts saw little reason to doubt that the man in the video was Mr. al-Baghdadi and said his appearance sought to rally his followers for the future.
“This strikes me as an attempt to shore up global community in the face of territorial losses,” said Joshua Geltzer, who served as the senior director for counterterrorism on President Obama’s National Security Council.
The Islamic State has not used frequent videos to create a cult of personality around its leader the way that Al Qaeda did with Osama bin Laden, but it could be heading in that direction, Mr. Geltzer said.
“I guess they considered the payoff worth it to show the organization hasn’t truly been defeated, even in its core manifestation,” he said.
It was unclear when or where the video was recorded but the fact that the most recent events were addressed in audio and not video suggested that it may have been filmed weeks ago, with the audio portions citing recent attacks added later.
Despite being one of the most wanted men on the planet, Mr. al-Baghdadi remains shrouded in mystery.
He is believed to be in hiding somewhere in the sparsely populated desert spanning the border between Iraq and Syria, where he avoids the use of technology like cellphones that could help his many enemies track him. Multiple attempts by the United States and its allies to kill him have failed.
While he has not released a video message in years, he has often addressed his followers through audio. Last August, the Islamic State released an audio recording said to be of him.
Although the group has lost its territory in Iraq and Syria, it still claims a caliphate, which it considers a global project.
Hinting at the group’s global ambitions, the video ended with a follower handing Mr. al-Baghdadi files in plastic covers about the group’s different “states,” in Yemen, Somalia, Turkey and elsewhere.