{"id":42927,"date":"2017-09-28T18:29:43","date_gmt":"2017-09-28T18:29:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/09\/28\/isis-releases-baghdadi-audio-as-the-group-crumbles-in-iraq-and-syria\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:19:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:19:50","slug":"isis-releases-baghdadi-audio-as-the-group-crumbles-in-iraq-and-syria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/flashpoints\/2017\/09\/28\/isis-releases-baghdadi-audio-as-the-group-crumbles-in-iraq-and-syria\/","title":{"rendered":"ISIS releases Baghdadi audio as the group crumbles in Iraq and Syria"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The Islamic State group released a 46-minute audio clip of someone purported to be ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The audio message, titled, \u201cYour Lord Suffices as Guide and Helper,\u201d was released by al Furqan media, a propaganda outlet known to publish and distribute messages from key ISIS leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If confirmed, it would be the first message from the reclusive leader since November 2016, and it comes as the terrorist group\u2019s self-proclaimed caliphate is rapidly crumbling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the message, Baghdadi told his supporters that ISIS remains steadfast as America grows weary in the conflict, according to analysis by Hassan Hassan, a senior fellow at the Tahrir Institute located in Washington D.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA key recurrent message in Al-Baghdadi\u2019s speech is something I\u2019ve frequently highlighted: That IS views its fight as a ceaseless war of attrition to deplete enemies. He cites lack of U.S. appetite to send troops as vindication of a decade-long *stated* strategy,\u201d Hassan wrote on Twitter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A banner from ISIS’ recent audio message from ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi titled \u201cYour Lord Suffices as Guide and Helper\u201d ( Al Furqan Media ISIS propaganda)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Baghdadi goes on to cite North Korea\u2019s nuclear threats against the U.S. and Japan, as well as Iran\u2019s conflict in Yemen and Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAl-Baghdadi tells followers he\u2019s \u2018certain that bloodshed in Mosul, Raqqa, Sirte, Ramadi and Hama will eventually lead to the downfall of tyrants,\u2019\u201d Hassan wrote on Twitter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The release of the audio comes as ISIS has lost a significant amount of territory to the U.S.-led coalition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iraq\u2019s second largest city, Mosul, was liberated in mid-July, and Tal Afar was recaptured by Iraqi forces at the end of August after just over a week of fighting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iraqi forces have also seized more than 100 villages near the northern town of Hawija, according to Col. Ryan Dillon, a spokesperson for the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Iraqis have the momentum,\u201d Dillon told reporters at a televised press briefing at the Pentagon on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Syria, U.S.-backed Kurdish forces known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, have secured more than 75 percent of Raqqa, ISIS\u2019 self-proclaimed capital, according to Dillon. There are still roughly 400 to 800 fighters in the embattled city, Dillon told reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SDF have also made recent gains in Deir el-Zour province, capturing the Al Suwar region, according to Dilllon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the past year, numerous reports of Baghdadi\u2019s death have surfaced. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights \u2014 a watchdog group covering Syria \u2014 recently claimed the leader was dead. And the Russian defense ministry claimed he was killed in a Russian airstrike outside of Raqqa back in May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, Gen. Stephen Townsend, the former commander of the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq and Syria, told reporters in his last televised briefing that he believed Baghdadi was alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\t