Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the largely decimated ISIS terrorist group, is reportedly still alive. Video footage shows him sitting next to a rifle.
It is the first time he has appeared on camera in five years, however, it’s not clear where or when the video was filmed.
At one point, al-Baghdadi is heard praising the Sri Lanka terrorist attackers.
“The battle for Baghouz is over,” he said while addressing three men. Their faces have been blurred in the video.
The last time he was seen on camera was in July 2014 when he was seen giving a speech at a mosque in Iraq during his first public appearance.
In 2017, Russian officials claimed to have killed the reclusive terror leader, but the claim was rejected by the United States. An audio clip that contained his voice further disproved the claim.
Al-Baghdadi took over ISIS in 2010 following the assassination of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, who had led the terrorist organization.
The U.S. is offering $25 million for information leading to his capture.
Christianity Grows in Former ISIS State
A community of Syrians who converted from Islam to Christianity is growing in Kobani, a town besieged by ISIS for months, and where the tide turned against the terrorists four years ago, Reuters reported.The converts say the experience of war and the onslaught of a group claiming to fight for Islam pushed them toward their new faith. After a number of families converted, the Syrian-Turkish border town’s first evangelical church opened last year.
Christianity is one of the region’s minority faiths that was persecuted by ISIS.
“After the war with Islamic State people were looking for the right path, and distancing themselves from Islam,” said Omar Firas, the founder of Kobani’s evangelical church. “People were scared and felt lost.”
