ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi still alive, new audio tape seems to suggest

LONDON: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the founder of the ISIS terrorist outfit, may not be dead. A 46-minute tape in which his purported voice urges ISIS fighters to continue their attacks on the West seemingly dashes speculation that he was killed in a Russian airstrike in June.

Citing experts, British newspaper Daily Mail reported that the voice on the tape is similar to al-Baghdadi 's. If it is indeed him, this would be the first time he has been heard since November 2016.

That the tape is recent is perhaps attested by the references to North Korea’s nuclear threats against the US and Japan. However, the lack of specific details has made it difficult to determine the actual date it might have been recorded.

“Continue your jihad and blessed operations, and do not let the crusaders and apostates enjoy a good life or a pleasant living in the middle of their countries while your brothers are experiencing bombardment, killing, and destruction,” al-Baghdadi was quoted as saying.

He urged his fighters not to give up jihad and also heard saying that the US is “weakening as a world power and the West lives in fear of terror attacks”.

Al-Baghdadi’s last tape came in November 2016, when the battle for Mosul was beginning. US-backed forces went on to secure the ISIS stronghold in a fierce battle that lasted months.

In June this year, Russian officials had claimed that there was a “high probability” that al-Baghdadi had been killed in one of their airstrikes on the city of Raqqa. However, a top US army commander said earlier this month that he may be alive.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had declared his so-called global caliphate in 2014. His outfit has been referred to as ISIS, ISIL, Islamic State and in the Arab world as Da’esh. ISIS subsribes to the extreme hardline version of Islam called Wahhabism, which is also the state-backed sect in Saudi Arabia.