Iraq analyzing tape purported to show top militant
Source: AP-Excite
By SINAN SALAHEDDIN
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi officials are working to determine the authenticity of a video that purportedly shows the leader of the Islamic extremist group that has seized large swaths of the country delivering a sermon this week in the nation's second-largest city, authorities said Sunday.
The 21-minute video said to show Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the head of the Islamic State group, was reportedly filmed on Friday at the Great Mosque in the northern city of Mosul. It was released on at least two websites known to be used by the organization and bore the logo of its media arm.
Iraqi military spokesman Lt. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi told reporters Sunday the country's security services are still analyzing the video to verify whether the speaker is indeed al-Baghdadi, and that the government will "announce the details once they are available."
The purported appearance in Mosul, a city of some 2 million that the militants seized last month, came five days after al-Baghdadi's group declared the establishment of an Islamic state, or caliphate, in the territories it has seized in Iraq and Syria. The group proclaimed al-Baghdadi the leader of its state and demanded that all Muslims pledge allegiance to him.
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This image made from video posted on a militant website Saturday, July 5, 2014, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, purports to show the leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, delivering a sermon at a mosque in Iraq. A video posted online Saturday purports to show the leader of the Islamic State extremist group that has overrun much of Syria and Iraq delivering a sermon at a mosque in Iraq, in what would be a rare - if not the first - public appearance by the shadowy militant. (AP Photo/Militant video)
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