ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi urges fight to death in Iraq, audio claims

[MowCowWhoHow III]

Source: The Guardian

The leader of Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, has expressed confidence in victory as Iraqi forces entered the city of Mosul where he declared a “caliphate” two years ago.

“This … total war and the great jihad that the Islamic State is fighting today only increases our firm belief, God willing, and our conviction that all this is a prelude to victory,” said a voice purporting to be that of Baghdadi lreleased early on Thursday by the IS-affiliated Al-Furqan media.

“Do not retreat ... Holding your ground with honour is a thousand times easier than retreating in shame,” he said in the message, his first since December 2015.

“To all the people of Nineveh, especially the fighters, beware of any weakness in facing your enemy,” Baghdadi said, referring to the northern Iraqi province of which Mosul is the capital. The audio message does not refer to Mosul specifically.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/03/isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-issues-first-message-since-mosul-offensive

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ISIS leader al-Baghdadi rallies Mosul fighters in rare audio message

(CNN) ISIS' media arm has released audio purportedly featuring its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in which he says he's "confident of victory" in Mosul, the group's Iraqi stronghold.

Addressing the estimated 5,000 fighters holed up in the city, he said that "holding your ground in honor is a thousand times better than retreating in disgrace."

The tape was released by ISIS' media wing al-Furqan as the battle for Mosul intensifies, with Iraqi troops poised to enter the city. It's the first recording reportedly of al-Baghdadi released since late 2015.

The sectarian tone and animosity toward Shia Muslims and other, non-Muslim groups is more vicious than in previous recordings.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/11/02/middleeast/al-baghdadi-audio-mosul/

ISIS: Leader al-Baghdadi released audio statement saying he is confident in keeping Mosul. Calls for invasion of Turkey & attacks on Saudi.

https://twitter.com/Conflicts/status/794066480434479104

[ColemanMaskell]

1. Sounds like that Star Trek movie where Chris Pine agrees to those terms

The villain, having destroyed Spock's home planet and attacked Earth, is vanquished by the Enterprise (naturally) and Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) offers to beam the villain out of his destructing ship. The villain, in his final villainous rant, says he'd rather die. Meanwhile Kirk is consulting with Spock, who votes in favor of letting him die as requested. Kirk agrees with due gusto, and sends the villain to his grand finale death, complete with an expensive explosive fireworks of special effects. Good ending.

[pkdu]

2. Except for me....I'm outta here asap...see yall in the afterlife with 74 Virginians . nt

[lapfog_1]

3. "fight to the death"

"your proposal is acceptable"

[JI7]

4. is he going to take part in this fight also ?

[Feeling the Bern]

5. hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Really? You think he'll do that?

That's what the rubes are for.

[ck4829]

6. Funny he doesn't refer directly to Mosul, you'd think that would be important

I wonder if this same message will be played when forces pull up on Raqqa as well.

The guy's dead.

[GulfCoast66]

11. He did

Mosul is the biblical city of Nineveh which is what he called it.

It is really old.

[Renew Deal]

7. He should lead by example

[renegade000]

8. Wenck is coming with the 12th Army!

[wordpix]

9. come out of your rat hole, Baghdadi, and lead your fighters in person

no, he'd rather "lead" by giving an audio message.

[Eugene]

10. Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi 'no longer in Mosul'

Source: The Guardian

Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi 'no longer in Mosul'

UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson tells MPs that intelligence
sources believe Baghdadi ‘has vacated the scene’

Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor
Thursday 3 November 2016 15.45 GMT

Western intelligence sources believe the Islamic State leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is no longer in Mosul, Boris Johnson has said.

In an unusual reference to intelligence, the British foreign secretary said Baghdadi’s audio recording issued on Thursday calling for the defeat of the Iraqi forces fighting to liberate Mosul was “cruelly ironic since some of the intelligence we have suggests he had himself vacated the scene himself and is yet using internet media to encourage others to take part in violence”.

In his first address for a year, Baghdadi called on his supporters to “wreak havoc”, saying the struggle was a prelude to victory. Isis fighters patrolled the Mosul streets broadcasting Baghdadi’s call.

Johnson said the battle to recapture Mosul, in the face of Isis’s “scorched earth campaign”, would take time and represented “the coalition’s greatest challenge”. He also insisted lessons had been learned from the aftermath of the 2003 Iraq war, making post-victory stabilisation in Mosul as important as the military capture of the city.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/03/isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-no-longer-in-mosul