ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has appeared in a video for the first time in nearly five years, hailing the Sri Lanka attacks that killed more than 250 people on Easter Sunday, April 21, and urging his followers on after their territorial losses.
“The battle of Islam and Muslims with the Cross and its people is a long one,” the 47-year-old Iraqi commander begins, seated on a cushion on the floor in a nondescript room, addressing three supporters whose faces are concealed.
The new 18-minute video of Baghdadi, circulated Monday night, comes one week after his followers claimed responsibility for the coordinated attacks against churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka. ISIS issued a statement formally claiming responsibility.
Baghdadi, in his latest appearance, congratulates his followers in Sri Lanka for pledging allegiance to his caliphate.
However, Baghdadi's image disappears towards the end of the video and an audio recording of him discussing the Sri Lanka attacks is played instead, suggesting that this part was recorded after the main video was filmed, as he sounds like he is reading a prepared speech, and his voice is layered over a video of the eight purported Sri Lankan suicide attackers that has been circulated by ISIS.
“Your brothers in Sri Lanka have heartened the Muslim faithful with their strike operations, which shook the Crusaders on their Easter feast and made revenge for the brothers in Baghouz,” Baghdadi said.
“The number of dead and wounded is in the thousands, and this is part of the revenge that awaits the Crusaders and their minions, God willing,” he adds.
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