ISIS leader seemingly breaks 11-month silence in audio recording

CNN ^ | 09/29/2017 | By Tim Lister, Jim Sciutto, Ghazi Balkiz and Michael Callahan

[SeekAndFind]

The leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, seems to have broken his 11-month silence with a long audio message in which he mocks the United States, calls on jihadis to rally against the Syrian regime and insists that ISIS 'remains' despite its rapid loss of territory.

A spokesman with the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence told CNN: "We are aware of the audio tape purported to be of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and are taking steps to examine it. While we have no reason to doubt its authenticity, we do not have verification at this point."

The speech seems to have been recorded relatively recently, as it references North Korean nuclear threats against Japan and the United States, as well as Syrian peace talks -- in which Russia, Turkey and Iran are trying to extend ceasefires across Syria. The release appears to lay to rest claims by the Russian military that they had almost certainly killed Baghdadi in an airstrike near Raqqa on May 28. US officials say ISIS has largely been forced out of Raqqa as well as Mosul, and Baghdadi may be somewhere in the middle Euphrates River Valley.

That is an area that straddles Syria's border with Iraq, to which much of the group's leadership is thought to have relocated earlier this year.

A spokesman for the US-led coalition fighting ISIS said they were not aware of the audio recording. "This is the first I've heard about it," US Army Col. Ryan Dillon, a spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, told reporters Thursday at the Pentagon by teleconference from Baghdad.

Dillon later added "without verifiable evidence of his death we have continued to assume he's alive." Dillon said he was "sure our people" are looking at the recording,

[SeekAndFind]

In his 46-minute message, Baghdadi urged fighters ("the mujahideen") to persevere, and to show that the bloodshed in Mosul, Raqqa and elsewhere was not in vain "by clashing the shining swords and shedding filthy blood."

[yldstrk]

I don’t think any recorded message proves anyone is alive....

[bert]

The message is evidence of defeat.

A 45 minute press release to now separated faithful is thought necessary to induce cohesion that is failing.

[Mr. K]

He finally peeked out of the hole he’s been hiding in?

[Mr. K]

"... and insists that ISIS 'remains' despite its rapid loss of territory."

If you have to tell people you're not losing, you're losing.

[Dalberg-Acton]

How many times has he been reported killed?

[Enchante]

"Baghdadi also echoes the message of another ISIS leader, Abu Mohammad al-Adnani, who declared that holding territory mattered less than the will to fight. Adnani was killed in 2016."

ooops, yeah, Adnani is dead ... and our territory is collapsing.... but all is well.

[Eric]

Maybe he changed his name from “Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi” to “Abu Din-ja No I-Ben-Healing”.

[gandalftb]

We’ve killed him twice, the Russians once.