FILE - This file image made from video posted on a militant website July 5, 2014, purports to show the leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, delivering a sermon at a mosque in Iraq during his first public appearance. The Islamic State group released on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017 a purported audio recording from top leader al-Baghdadi.
 (Militant video via AP, File)
Coalition officials said they had no idea where ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi was. AP

ISIS leader calls for attacks on West in purported new recording



ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi called for attacks in the West in a purported new audio recording released via Telegram on the Eid Al Adha holiday.

It is the first apparent recording of the leader to be released since September last year and comes in the wake of major territorial losses for the group in Iraq and Syria.
"Those who forget their religion, patience, jihad against their enemies, and their certainty in the creator's promise lose and are disgraced," the leader said. "But when they hold on to it, they are mighty and victorious, even if after a certain time."

The term jihad, an internal spiritual struggle or a fight for a morally better society, has been used repeatedly by ISIS and other terror groups to justify violence.

ISIS overran large swathes of Syria and neighbouring Iraq in 2014, proclaiming a "caliphate" in areas they controlled.

They have since lost most of that to various offensives in both countries.

The "caliphate will remain, God willing", Al Baghdadi said in Wednesday's recording, addressing followers in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

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It was not clear when the message was recorded, but the leader appeared to criticise a $100-million (Dh367.3 million) pledge by Saudi Arabia last week to help rebuild Syria's northeast.

He threatened the United States and Russia, who have both backed offensives against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, saying that his fighters had prepared "horrors" for them.

Al Baghdadi also criticised Syria's rebel fighters for agreeing to surrender deals with the Damascus regime, and called on opposition fighters to join his group.

The leader has been pronounced dead on several occasions, but an Iraqi intelligence official said in May that he remains alive in Syrian territory by the Iraqi border where recent isolated attacks by ISIS recently took place. Al Baghdadi is said to move around with only a small group of followers to avoid surveillance.

One day after the release of the audio a knife attack that left two people dead and one seriously injured in a Paris suburb was claimed by ISIS.

The attacker, who has not yet been identified, was shot and killed by police when he ignored their warnings.

Despite ISIS taking responsibility for the deadly attack, an official from the Paris prosecutor's office, the office responsible for investigating acts of terror, told The National the stabbing was not motivated by terrorism.

She explained that since the incident was not terror related it was being dealt with locally by the Versailles police. However the man had been on a terror watch list after expressing extremist views, Agence France-Presse reported. And the town of Trappes has previously been associated with radicalisation and is thought to be a source of ISIS foreign fighters.

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Originally from Iraq, Al Baghdadi has been dubbed the "most wanted man on the planet" and the United States is offering a $25 million reward for his capture.

Also on Wednesday ISIS' media arm released a video of four boys it said were behind multiple attacks on police targets in the Russian region of Chechnya two days ago which were claimed by the group.

Three of them brandished big knives and the youngest held up a phone with an ISIS flag displayed on the screen as they pledged allegiance in Russian to Al Baghdadi.

Though the authenticity of the video and identities of the individuals have not been verified, the ages of the boys matched the statements by local officials who said the attackers were minors, one as young as 11.

In the attacks on Monday, which included a botched suicide bombing and a knife attack on a police station, four of the assailants were shot dead. The fifth was hospitalised after he blew himself up but survived, Russian news agencies and officials said.

The young boys described themselves as fighters and threatened to attack "infidels".

The mainly Muslim internal republic of Chechnya has been dogged by attacks and a simmering insurgency since Moscow fought two wars with separatists there following the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union.

Picture of Joumblatt and Hariri breaking bread sets Twitter alight

Mr Joumblatt’s pessimism regarding the Lebanese political situation didn’t stop him from enjoying a cheerful dinner on Tuesday with several politicians including Mr Hariri.

Caretaker Culture Minister Ghattas Khoury tweeted a picture of the group sitting around a table at a discrete fish restaurant in Beirut’s upscale Sodeco area.

Mr Joumblatt told The National that the fish served at Kelly’s Fish lounge had been very good.

“They really enjoyed their time”, remembers the restaurant owner. “Mr Hariri was taking selfies with everybody”.

Mr Hariri and Mr Joumblatt often have dinner together to discuss recent political developments.

Mr Joumblatt was a close ally of Mr Hariri’s assassinated father, former prime minister Rafik Hariri. The pair were leading figures in the political grouping against the 15-year Syrian occupation of Lebanon that ended after mass protests in 2005 in the wake of Rafik Hariri’s murder. After the younger Hariri took over his father’s mantle in 2004, the relationship with Mr Joumblatt endured.

However, the pair have not always been so close. In the run-up to the election last year, Messrs Hariri and Joumblatt went months without speaking over an argument regarding the new proportional electoral law to be used for the first time. Mr Joumblatt worried that a proportional system, which Mr Hariri backed, would see the influence of his small sect diminished.

With so much of Lebanese politics agreed in late-night meetings behind closed doors, the media and pundits put significant weight on how regularly, where and with who senior politicians meet.

In the picture, alongside Messrs Khoury and Hariri were Mr Joumbatt and his wife Nora, PSP politician Wael Abou Faour and Egyptian ambassador to Lebanon Nazih el Nagari.

The picture of the dinner led to a flurry of excitement on Twitter that it signified an imminent government formation. “God willing, white smoke will rise soon and Walid Beik [a nickname for Walid Joumblatt] will accept to give up the minister of industry”, one user replied to the tweet. “Blessings to you…We would like you to form a cabinet”, wrote another.  

The next few days will be crucial in determining whether these wishes come true.

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