After five years, the head of the Islamic State reappeared: "The battle against the Crusaders is long"

After five years reappeared in a video Abu Bakr al Bagdadi, the head of the Islamic State. For now, the date on which the documents were recorded is unknown, but the head of the terrorist group – head of the self-proclaimed "jihadist" caliphate in 2014 – warns that "the battle of Baghuz is now over", referring to the stronghold of the ultra-radical group east of Syria, that they lost on March 23.

He said that the operations of the IS against the West were part of a "long battle" and that the jihadist group He would "avenge" the members who were killed. "It will come more after this fight, the battle of Islam against the Crusaders is long," he warned.

The recording was broadcast on Telegram by Al Furqan, the main propaganda vehicle of the Islamic State. In the video, we see him sitting next to a rifle and apparently in good health, even if at some point it was even said that he was dead.

The leader of the Islamic State is 47 years old and the only time he appeared in public was in Mosul in 2014, where he declared an Islamic "caliphate" among the stretches of the state's territory Islamic that they then controlled in Syria and Iraq. The last audio voice for his supporters was released in August, eight months after Iraq's announcement of EI's defeat.

On March 23, the Syrian Democratic Forces (FSD), an armed alliance led by the Kurds, announced the territorial defeat of the radical group in Syria. The announcement came hours after the US proclaimed the victory despite continuing fighting in Baghuz, the last city in which it resisted, a few kilometers from the Iraqi border.