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Iraqi Islamic State leader purported to make public appearance
Source: Reuters
Iraqi Islamic State leader purported to make public appearance
DUBAI Sat Jul 5, 2014 11:14am EDT
(Reuters) - A man purported to be the reclusive leader of the militant Islamic State has made what would be his first public appearance at the grand mosque in Iraq's second city, Mosul, according to a video recording posted on the Internet on Saturday.
The 21-minute video came after reports on social media that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi would make his first public appearance since his Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) changed its name to the Islamic State and declared him caliph - a title held by successors of the Prophet Mohammad.
If confirmed it would be the first public appearance by the head of the militant group that led a military offensive last month that saw swathes of northern Iraq fall to ISIL and other Sunni armed factions. The campaign started on June 10 in Mosul, the north's biggest city, which was quickly taken by ISIL.
The recording showed a bearded man in a black robe and black turban slowly ascending the pulpit below the black flag of the Islamic State. The recording called him "Caliph Ibrahim, emir of the faithful in the Islamic State, may God protect him."
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DUBAI Sat Jul 5, 2014 11:14am EDT
(Reuters) - A man purported to be the reclusive leader of the militant Islamic State has made what would be his first public appearance at the grand mosque in Iraq's second city, Mosul, according to a video recording posted on the Internet on Saturday.
The 21-minute video came after reports on social media that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi would make his first public appearance since his Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) changed its name to the Islamic State and declared him caliph - a title held by successors of the Prophet Mohammad.
If confirmed it would be the first public appearance by the head of the militant group that led a military offensive last month that saw swathes of northern Iraq fall to ISIL and other Sunni armed factions. The campaign started on June 10 in Mosul, the north's biggest city, which was quickly taken by ISIL.
The recording showed a bearded man in a black robe and black turban slowly ascending the pulpit below the black flag of the Islamic State. The recording called him "Caliph Ibrahim, emir of the faithful in the Islamic State, may God protect him."
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/05/us-iraq-security-baghdadi-idUSKBN0FA0IO20140705
Source: Reuters
Iraq says footage purporting to show Islamic State leader is false
BAGHDAD Sat Jul 5, 2014 12:35pm EDT
(Reuters) - The Iraqi government said on Saturday that a video posted online purporting to show the reclusive leader of the militant group Islamic State praying in the northern city of Mosul was falsified.
Interior Ministry spokesman Brigadier General Saad Maan told Reuters that the footage posted on the Internet on Saturday allegedly showing Abu Bakr el-Baghdadi at Mosul's grand mosque was "indisputably" not him.
"We have analyzed the footage ... and found it is a farce," he said.
Maan said government forces had recently wounded Baghdadi in an air strike and that he had been transferred by Islamic State militants to Syria for medical treatment. He declined to give further details and there was no way to confirm the claim independently.
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BAGHDAD Sat Jul 5, 2014 12:35pm EDT
(Reuters) - The Iraqi government said on Saturday that a video posted online purporting to show the reclusive leader of the militant group Islamic State praying in the northern city of Mosul was falsified.
Interior Ministry spokesman Brigadier General Saad Maan told Reuters that the footage posted on the Internet on Saturday allegedly showing Abu Bakr el-Baghdadi at Mosul's grand mosque was "indisputably" not him.
"We have analyzed the footage ... and found it is a farce," he said.
Maan said government forces had recently wounded Baghdadi in an air strike and that he had been transferred by Islamic State militants to Syria for medical treatment. He declined to give further details and there was no way to confirm the claim independently.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/05/us-iraq-security-baghdadi-government-idUSKBN0FA0MG20140705