ISIL leader recording urges jihadists to 'resist'

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The ISIL group released a recording Thursday of what it says is its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, calling on jihadists under pressure in Syria and Iraq to "resist" their enemies.

In his first alleged message in nearly a year and following reports of his possible death, the elusive jihadist leader called on his supporters to target the "media centers" of countries fighting his group.

The United States said it was verifying the recording, but also said that it had "no reason to doubt" its authenticity.

"The leaders of the Islamic State and its soldiers have realized that the path to... victory is to be patient and resist the infidels whatever their alliances," Baghdadi allegedly said in the recording.

It was not clear when the message, released by the ISIL-affiliated Al-Furqan media group, was recorded.

A man purported to be the reclusive leader of ISIL Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi makes what would have been his first public appearance, at a mosque in Mosul, according to a video recording posted on the Internet on July 5, 2014, in this still image taken from video. /Reuters Photo via Xinhua

In it, he lashed out at "infidel nations headed by America, Russia and Iran" who, along with their allies, have inflicted losses on the jihadists during separate offensives against ISIL in Syria and Iraq.

"We will remain, we will resist and be patient... We will not give in," he said, a day after Iraqi forces defeated ISIL fighters who had seized areas in a surprise offensive around Ramadi west of Baghdad.

The apparent ISIL leader called on "soldiers of the caliphate" to pursue their "jihad", or holy war, and attacks.

He urged his followers to "target the media centers of the infidels," without providing further details.

Source(s): AFP