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Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi: IS leader appears in first video in five years | BBC
The Islamic State group has released a video of a man it says is its leader, vowing to seek revenge for its loss of territory.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2014 (left) and in a new video.
At first blush it seems Baghdadi has survived the US/Kurd assaults on his Iraq/Stria caliphate. Analysts will dissect the video and render their decision probably sometime in May. If Baghdadi did indeed survive, it suggests that he obviously places his survival and totem function as of more import and gravitas than martyrdom. At least for the short term, IS will content itself with heading an international amalgamation of Islamist jihadi cells. Decentralized, much like AQ.
Related: ISIS Leader Apparently Releases Video For First Time In 5 Years
The Islamic State group has released a video of a man it says is its leader, vowing to seek revenge for its loss of territory.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2014 (left) and in a new video.
4/30/19
He has not been seen since 2014, when he proclaimed from Mosul the creation of a "caliphate" across parts of Syria and Iraq. In this new footage, Baghdadi acknowledges defeat at Baghuz, the group's last stronghold in the region. It is not clear when the video was recorded. IS says it was shot in April. The footage was posted on the militant group's al-Furqan media network. A US State Department spokesman said the tapes would be inspected by analysts to ascertain their authenticity, adding that the US-led coalition remains committed to ensuring any IS "leaders who remain are delivered the justice that they deserve". Baghdadi says that he has had pledges of allegiance from militants in Burkina Faso and Mali, and talks about the protests in Sudan and Algeria - saying jihad is the only solution to "tyrants". Both countries have seen their long-term rulers overthrown this month. Baghdadi's image disappears towards the end of the video and an audio recording of him discussing the Sri Lanka Easter Sunday attacks is played instead, suggesting that this part was recorded after the main video was filmed. Baghdadi says the Sri Lanka attacks were carried out as revenge for the fall of the Syrian town of Baghuz.
For his hardcore followers, there is almost as much symbolism in this video as there is content. The underlying message is not just one of survival against the odds. The optics here are vintage Osama Bin Laden: the jihadist leader squatting cross-legged in an anonymous room beside a short, personalised, paratrooper version of an AK assault rifle, the quasi-military fishing waistcoat, the attentive companions calmly discussing plans, and the long, prematurely ageing grey beard (he is only 47). Over the last five years, Islamic State has largely eclipsed al-Qaeda on the media front. At the same time, IS has been reaching out to potential jihadist affiliates in areas of Africa and Asia that have previously looked to al-Qaeda for support. The overriding aim of this video is clear: to show that despite its resounding military defeat IS has survived and that its leader, with a $25m bounty on his head, is still at large. Since his 2014 public appearance he has remained silent for long periods, punctuated only by unconfirmed reports of his death and a few unverified audio recordings.
At first blush it seems Baghdadi has survived the US/Kurd assaults on his Iraq/Stria caliphate. Analysts will dissect the video and render their decision probably sometime in May. If Baghdadi did indeed survive, it suggests that he obviously places his survival and totem function as of more import and gravitas than martyrdom. At least for the short term, IS will content itself with heading an international amalgamation of Islamist jihadi cells. Decentralized, much like AQ.
Related: ISIS Leader Apparently Releases Video For First Time In 5 Years