New recording seen as response to reports about the “Caliph”‘s injuries in a bombing last Saturday.Baghdad/Aleteia (aleteia.org/ar) – ISIS published a message by “Caliph Abu-Bakr al-Baghdadi” that calls all Muslims to take up the Jihad and to “erupt like a volcano” throughout the world. He calls upon them to confront Jews, Christians and atheists, all of whom he describes as satanic. He even calls upon Muslims to target the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; describing its leader as the “head of the snake.”
The message appears to have been sent as proof that the “Caliph” is still alive, after conflicting reports were released stating that he died as a result of injuries sustained in a bombing last Saturday.
The date of the message has not yet been determined. In the 17 minute recorded message, the “leader” of ISIS does not mention the bombing that targeted him; however, he does go into recent events that occurred after the bombing. He specifically mentions the fundamentalist groups in Egypt, Algeria and Libya that had recently announced their allegiance to al-Baghdadi.
The recording further mentions an announcement made by President Barack Obama on Saturday about the United States’ resolve to send up to 1500 additional soldiers to train Iraqi forces; a step that will double the number of soldiers currently in Iraq.
Al-Baghdadi promised to continue fighting, saying, “ISIS soldiers will never stop fighting, even if only one of them remains.”
He went on to state, “O Muslims, rest assured that the status of your Caliphate is good. Its advance will not be stopped; and God willing, it will spread throughout the world, even if the disbelievers oppose it.”
He called upon his followers to perform “Jihad everywhere,” especially in “Saudi Arabia,” which he considers to be the “head of the snake and fortress of the disease.” He added that Coalition officials “failed in their plan to bomb ISIS locations,” and that “Jews and Christians will soon be compelled to fall to the earth and their ground forces sent to their deaths and utterly destroyed.”
According to a number analysts; aside from proving that the “Caliph” is still alive, the message’s purpose was to show that the battle is at its climax and to encourage new recruits among youth throughout the world.
This article was originally published in Aleteia’s Arabic edition. Translated by Donald Puhlman.
