IS chief Baghdadi appears in propaganda video; mentions Sri Lanka

Islamic State chief Baghdadi appears for the first time in five years in a propaganda video allegedly released by Islamic State's al-Furqan media.

#breaking ISIS produces a video showing Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi alive and talking about the caliphate after Baghouz. He starts with noting that the Baghouz battle ended. pic.twitter.com/VePx2IkudW

— Hassan Hassan (@hxhassan) April 29, 2019

It is unclear when the footage was filmed, but Baghdadi referred in the past tense to the months-long fight for Baghouz, IS's final bastion in eastern Syria, which ended last month.

"The battle for Baghouz is over," he said, sitting cross-legged on a cushion and addressing three men whose faces have been blurred. He is talking about the caliphate after Baghouz in the video.

The key message Baghdadi emphasises is that his jihadists did not hand over any area and died fighting to the end, citing Bayji, Sirte, Mosul, Raqqa and Baghouz.

Baghdadi also said that the war against our enemies today is a "war of attrition".

In the video, he accepted the oath of allegiance from jihadists in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Afghanistan.

Importantly, he mentions Sri Lanka and the new pledge of allegiance there. He says it was retaliation for Baghouz.

Sri Lanka was recently rocked by multiple blasts during Easter celebrations which killed over 250 people.