Heads of German, Iraqi Govts want anti-IS fight to continue in light of Baghdadi video
Berlin, May 1 (Sputnik/UNI) German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi have called for the continuation of the fight against the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, outlawed in Russia) in the wake of the release of a video featuring a man who resembles IS leader Abu Bakr Baghdadi.
Media reported Monday that terrorists had published a video featuring a man looking like Baghdadi for the first time since 2014 — the date of recording and the location where it was filmed are unknown. The video shows terrorists having a conversation, during which the man looking like Baghdadi admits the IS defeat in the eastern Syrian village of Baghuz, which had been the last terrorist enclave in the country.
"The issue of video release is, from my point of view, a sign that the major military confrontation has been completed, but no one is assuming that the IS will disappear this way ... We will be dealing with the matter of the complete defeat of the IS for some time. From my point of view, this video confirms that this assessment is correct," Merkel said at a joint press conference with Abdul Mahdi.
According to Merkel, it is necessary to distinguish between the complete disappearance of IS and a large-scale victory over the group.
The Iraqi prime minister shared this point of view, noting that "the IS had not completely disappeared but suffered painful blows."
"Baghdadi is now in an isolated place, it is impossible to recognize him, and he is not among the public, he will try to restore confidence among his fighters and carry out operations similar to those in Saudi Arabia or Sri Lanka, but no one can dispute that the number of IS forces has greatly reduced," Abdul Mahdi said.
According to the prime minister, this video is just more evidence that the international community should continue its joint efforts to completely eradicate the Islamic State.
Baghdadi's death has been reported numerous times in recent years, but the terrorist leader has re-emerged just as often.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in June 2017 that Baghdadi could have been killed on May 28 of that year in a Russian airstrike in the suburbs of Raqqa. But in September 2017, an alleged audio recording of Baghdadi surfaced, casting doubt on whether the terrorist leader was dead.
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