Terror group Islamic State has reportedly released an audio statement made by its chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was reported to have died after being seriously injured during an air strike by the US. If this audio clip is indeed authentic, it will confirm Baghdadi is still alive and in control of ISIS.
According to a report in The Guardian, the speaker in the audio statement called for mass mobilization of "every Muslim" to fight on the side of ISIS. Earlier reports had claimed that Baghdadi had succumbed to grievous injuries following an airstrike in March, 2015.
The leader had suffered near-fatal injuries initially. His injury led to urgent meetings of ISIS leaders, who thought he would die and made plans to name a new leader.
Al-Baghdadi, an ambitious Iraqi terrorist believed to be in his early 40s, has a $10 million US bounty on his head. Since taking over the reins of the group in 2010, he has transformed it from a local branch of al-Qaeda into an independent transnational military force, positioning himself as perhaps the pre-eminent figure in the global jihadi community.
The Islamic State had gained ground across northern and western Iraq in a lightning advance in June and July 2014, causing several of Iraq's army and police divisions to fall into disarray.
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