ISIS’ Mysterious Leader Is Not Dead, New Video Shows
< < Go Back
Five years ago, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi mounted the pulpit of a mosque in Iraq to declare himself the head of a rapidly expanding terrorist organization.
Since then, his group, the Islamic State, has transfixed the world with its apocalyptic violence while he has remained a mystery. Spottings were rare. Rumors swirled that he was wounded or dead. The United States put $25 million on his head and still failed to find him.
On Monday, he reappeared, leaning on a cushion with an assault rifle at his side, in a video seeking to rally his followers after the loss of the group’s territory in Iraq and Syria and its execution of one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in years, on Easter in Sri Lanka.
“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.
More From The New York Times (subscription required):
Rss Feed