Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
On August 22, ISIS’ media foundation al-Furqan released a 54-minutes long audio message of the terrorist group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in which he calls on his followers around the world to “persevere” and continue fighting against the group’s enemies.
The identity of the speaker in the audio message is yet to be confirmed. However, experts said the at the voice resembled that heard in older messages of al-Baghdadi.
“For the Mujahedeen [holy warriors] the scale of victory or defeat is not dependent on a city or town being stolen or subject to that who has aerial superiority, intercontinental missiles or smart bombs … Oh Caliphate soldiers… trust in God’s promise and His victory… for with hardship comes relief and a way out,” the Reuters news agency quoted the audio message as saying.
In the audio message, the speaker said that “America is going through the worst time in its entire existence” and gave the recent conflict with Turkey over the imprisonment of pastor Andrew Brunson as an example. The speaker went on to say that Russia, Iran and North Korea are no longer tolerating U.S. polices.
The speaker also commented on the recent defeats of opposition fighters in Syria and accused the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), without naming them, of treason. He even called on the remaining fighters of the opposition to join the ranks of ISIS and continue the fight against the Damascus government.
Furthermore, the speaker blessed the “lone wolves in the lands of crusaders in Canada, Europe and elsewhere for their work in supporting their brothers” and called on them to carry out terrorist attack wherever they are.
“A bullet or a stab or a bomb would be worth a thousand operations. And don’t forget to drive into crowds in the streets,” the speaker said, according to CNN.
This is the first audio message of al-Baghdadi in almost a year. The message is clearly aimed at raising the morale of the remaining ISIS fighters and at proving that al-Baghdadi is still alive after the recent rumors about him being “clinically dead.”
