BIRD BRAIN
Wannabe ISIS jihadi mocked as squawking bird drowns out pledge of allegiance
A WANNABE ISIS jihadi has been mocked by a loudly squawking bird during a pledge of allegiance to the terror group.
Video footage of the blunder emerged showing the man reading from a series of notes as the bird repeatedly interrupts the rehearsed performance.
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The jihadi, identified as Abu Muhammad al-Adeni, is seen kneeling on a rug in a wooded area.
He nervously checks his notes from his front shirt pocket as he is spurred on by another man behind the camera.
But soon into the man's oath, a bird loudly starts to squawk - drowning out the allegiance pledge.
Flustered, the man repeatedly forgets his lines and is instructed by another militant to “stay calm, keep cool”.
The embarrassing footage, shot by the Yemeni branch of Isis, was released by Al-Qaeda earlier this week in an attempt to mock its regional rival.
Al-Qaeda militants may have discovered the footage after taking over a camp in a Yemeni province, the reported.
Said to be recorded in 2017, the video recently reemerged after it was shared by Dr Elisabeth Kendall, a Middle East expert at Oxford University.
Posting over Twitter, she captioned the clip: “Heroic bird relentlessly drowns out ISIS-Y's attempt to renew allegiance to the caliph.
“Leader's feeble memory adds to the woes ... These bodged ‘takes’ didn't make it into the official video of this solemn event, released end July.”
ISIS RESURFACING
Isis has reportedly resurfaced since the defeat of its Syrian and Iraqi caliphate in March this year, seeking to re-establish territorial control in the region.
“Resurgent cells” have been established in Syria and assassinations, suicide attacks, abductions and arson of crops have since been carried out by the group, a US government report said.
In March, Trump proudly declared complete victory over the terror group while making it very clear he saw no further grounds for remaining in Syria.
However, his decision to withdraw all US troops from Syria has been judged by the Defence Department’s inspector general as being partially responsible for the revival of the terror group.
US WITHDRAWAL FROM SYRIA
A small number of American troops have remained in northeastern Syria, an area not controlled by the regime of President Bashar Assad.
Washington is pushing for increased military support from other members of the international coalition against ISIS
ISIS jihadis have carried out targeted assassinations, ambushes and suicide bombings in both Syria and Iraq.
Ambassador James Jeffrey, the State Department envoy to the international coalition fighting the Islamic State, said thousands of jihadi fighters are still scattered around the two countries.
The US-led coalition believes the group likely has between 14,000 and 18,000 “members” in Iraq and Syria, among them up to 3,000 foreigners.
A Pentagon watchdog warned ISIS is “resurging” in Syria and has solidified its insurgent capabilities in neighbouring Iraq.
"Despite losing its territorial 'caliphate,' the [IS] solidified its insurgent capabilities in Iraq and was resurging in Syria," the U.S. Department of Defense's internal watchdog said.
The UN has also warned a huge army of ISIS fighters may still be alive and preparing for a violent comeback by the end of this year.
MOST READ IN NEWS
At the height of its power in mid-2014, ISIS had seized control of large parts of Syria and Iraq, declaring an Islamic “caliphate” and committing widespread atrocities.
ISIS controlled a taxable population of some seven or eight million at its bloody pinnacle.
The terror group controlled oilfields and refineries, vast grain stores, lucrative smuggling routes and vast stockpiles of arms and ammunition.
Its economic capital was Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city.
ISIS was the most powerful, wealthiest, best-equipped jihadi force ever seen, sending shockwaves throughout world.
The jihadis were only pushed back after multiple years of heavy fighting and a massive US air campaign.
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ISIS sleeper cells increase attacks away from the battlefield in Syria
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