ISIL chief Baghdadi urges 'jihad' in new recording

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The leader of the Islamic State jihadist group (ISIL) Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi called on Muslims to wage "jihad" in a purported new audio recording released on Wednesday.

He also called for attacks in the West in the Telegram message on Eid al-Adha (also called the "Festival of Sacrifice"), which comes as ISIL has lost most of its territory in Iraq and Syria.

It is the first purported recording of the ISIL leader to be released since September last year.

ISIL Chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi addresses Muslim worshipers at a mosque in the Iraqi city of Mosul in this still from a video released on July 5, 2014. /VCG Photo

"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."

ISIL overran large swathes of Syria and neighboring 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.

An Iraqi woman lost five sons who were killed by ISIL militants, Mosul, Iraq, July 30, 2018. /VCG Photo

It was not clear when the message was recorded, but Baghdadi appeared to criticize a 100-million-US-dollar pledge by Saudi Arabia last week to help rebuild Syria's northeast. He threatened the United States and Russia, who have both backed offensives against ISIL, saying that the jihadists had prepared "horrors" for them.

Speaking of war-torn Syria, he criticized rebel fighters for agreeing to surrender deals with the Damascus government, and called on opposition fighters to join his jihadist group.

The ISIL chief made his only known public appearance in Iraq's second city of Mosul in July 2014.

Baghdadi has been pronounced dead on several occasions, but an Iraqi intelligence official said in May that he remains alive in Syrian territory by the Iraqi border.

Baghdadi was said to move around with only a small group of followers.

ISIL commander Mohammad Matar (C) is brought to the courthouse after he and three other high-level ISIL terrorists were detained in Izmir, Turkey, May 3, 2018. /VCG Photo

Originally from Iraq, Baghdadi has been dubbed the "most wanted man on the planet" and the United States is offering a reward worth 25 million US dollars for his capture.

The Iraqi official said the noose was closing around the jihadist leader after Iraqi forces captured five top ISIL commanders in an unprecedented raid in Syria on March 24.

In July, Iraqi intelligence services said Baghdadi's son Hudhayfah al-Badri had been killed in Syria by three Russian missiles targeting a cave where he was hiding.

In September 2017, in a voice message attributed to Baghdadi, the ISIL leader called on his fighters in Syria and Iraq to "resist" their enemies.

Source(s): AFP