CALL TO ARMS
ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s video is a pre-Ramadan rallying call for a global wave of terror attacks, expert says
THE new video of fugitive ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is a rallying-call for a global wave of terror in the lead up to Ramadan, an expert has said.
The fugitive chief appeared on camera for the first time in five years to address his followers from his secret hideout.
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The 18-minute clip shows the world's most wanted terrorist claiming responsibility for the Easter bombings in Sri Lanka as revenge for their losses in the Syrian city of Baghouz.
Terror expert Colin P. Clarke says the timing of the video is crucial as it comes in the build-up to the holy month of Ramadan - which begins at the end of this week.
The period, which this year falls on Sunday May 5 - Tuesday June 4, has been linked to a spike in terror attacks in previous years.
Writing in , Mr Clarke, a Senior Fellow at nonprofit The Soufan Center, said: "Baghdadi has remained off the grid for so long that his sudden appearance will very likely serve both as a morale boost for Islamic State supporters".
TACTICAL TIMING
He says the video, and the timing of its release, are tactics to encourage Islamic State militants and lone-wolf terrorists to carry out attacks.
In it al-Baghdadi addresses the end of the so-called caliphate, which once stretched across tracts of Iraq and Syria and ruthlessly ruled over 10 million people.
During 2016 Ramadan, 49 people were shot dead in a Florida nightclub, 45 people were killed in a shooting and bombing attack in Istanbul Atatürk Airport and a further 24 people were killed in a shooting in the wealthy Gulshan district of Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka.
The seems to be designed to show al-Baghdadi is alive and still in command of the on-the-run terror group as it plots new atrocities around the world.
Mystery had surrounded his whereabouts for some time. He was said to have been seriously wounded in an air strike in 2015.
LEADER CALLS FOR ATTACKS
But in the propaganda video he seems to have recovered.
He appears with a bushy grey and red beard, wearing a black robe with a beige vest and is seated on the floor with what appears to be an assault rifle propped up next to him.
Al-Bagdadi acknowledged that ISIS lost the war in the eastern Syrian village of Baghouz, which marked the end of the caliphate.
But he says: "In fact, the battle of Islam and its people against the Crusaders and their followers is a long battle."
The battle of Baghouz, he argues, demonstrates the "barbarism and brutality" of the West and the "courage, steadfastness and resilience of the nation of Islam".
'THERE WILL BE MORE TO COME'
He added: "This steadfastness shocked the hearts of the Crusaders in what increased their rage."
Referring to the setbacks in battle, he said the "brothers" of the many fallen fighters "will avenge that, as they will not forget as long as they have blood in their veins, and there will be a battle after this one".
"The battle for Baghouz is over. There will be more to come after this battle," he said.
"Our battle today is a war of attrition to harm the enemy, and they should know that jihad will continue until doomsday."
It is unclear when and where the video was filmed.
It comes after more than 250 people were killed in coordinated bombings in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday.
UK-educated Sri Lanka bomber captured on CCTV moments before blowing himself up
Three churches and three luxury hotels were targeted by nine suicide bombers including one who studied in the UK.
The Sri Lankan government has named local Jihadi terror group National Thowheeth Jama'ath (NTJ) as being responsible for the horrific attacks.
The NTJ is a radical Muslim group and ISIS branch in Sri Lanka that was linked last year to the destruction of Buddhist statues.
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