The leader of the Islamic State (IS) group has appeared for the first time in five years in a video released by the extremist group's propaganda arm.
The video released by Al-Furqan today shows Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi appearing with a bushy grey and red beard, wearing a black robe with a beige vest and seated on the floor with what appears to be a machine gun propped up next to him.
1) BREAKING: #ISIS’ Furqan issues new video showing leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, marking the first time he is shown in a video since his July 2014 sermon at the Great Mosque in #Mosul pic.twitter.com/cDgOmx7Mhn
— Rita Katz (@Rita_Katz) April 29, 2019
It is his first video appearance since he delivered a sermon at the al-Nuri mosque in the Iraqi city of Mosul in 2014.
The SITE Intelligence group said al-Baghdadi acknowledged in the video the end of the battle in Baghouz, the group's last stronghold in Syria, and discussed the bombings in Sri Lanka that killed more than 250 people.