Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who purportedly appeared in a video for the first time in five years, is threatening revenge and a 'long battle' ahead.
In the 18-minute video from the Al Furqan network, a bearded man with Baghdadi’s appearance says the Easter bombings in Sri Lanka were IS’s response to losses in its last territorial stronghold of Baghouz in Syria.
The group will seek revenge for jailed and killed members, he says, calling for militants operating in west Africa to multiply attacks against “Crusader France and its allies”.
The authenticity and date of the recording could not be independently verified.
IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in his first public appearance in Mosul, Iraq on July 5, 2014, left, and at right, on Monday, April 29, 2019, Source: AAP
The video would be the first from al-Baghdadi since he was filmed in the Iraqi city of Mosul in 2014. More recent speeches have been released as audio recordings.
US government analysts "will review this recording and we will defer to the intelligence community to confirm its authenticity," the State Department spokesman said.
With a $US25 million ($A35 million) bounty on his head, al-Baghdadi is the world's most wanted man.
