The US-led coalition says Thursday the leadership of the Islamic State group was now “irrelevant” after IS issued an audio message it said was recorded by its chief, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Coalition spokesman Colonel Sean Ryan’s statement comes after Baghdadi called on Muslims to wage “jihad” in the purported recording released late Wednesday.
“He’s been rendered useless and ineffective, so we’re not too concerned by any comments coming from ISIS leadership,” Ryan says, using another acronym for the jihadist group.
Baghdadi has been pronounced dead on several occasions, but an Iraqi intelligence official said in May that he remains alive in Syrian territory by the Iraqi border. His last purported message was released in September 2017, shortly after forces backed by the US-led coalition expelled IS from its de facto capital of Raqa.
“We believe his leadership is irrelevant,” Ryan tells journalists in a conference call.
“We’re focused on defeating the last remnants of ISIS, so whether he is around or not doesn’t really matter.”
— AFP
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, August 23, 2018
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
