Islamic State leader appears in video for first time in five years

BEIRUT — The Islamic State group released a video Monday of a man it said was its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who praised the bombers who killed more than 250 people in Sri Lanka on Easter and vowed that his group would keep fighting until “Judgment Day.”

If the man in the video is confirmed to be al-Baghdadi, it would mark the first time he has shown his face while addressing his followers in five years, since the early days of the terrorist group’s rampage through Iraq and Syria.

In an 18-minute video released by an Islamic State media group and distributed by the SITE Intelligence Group, the man identified as al-Baghdadi sits on the ground in an Arab-style sitting room, his elbow perched on a pillow as he calmly speaks to a group of unidentified followers with an assault rifle at his side.

He acknowledges that the group has lost its so-called caliphate in Iraq and Syria but says that the group’s battle with the West and its allies was far from over.

“Truthfully, the battle of Islam and its people with the crusader and his people is a long battle,” he said. He called on his followers to continue pursuing their enemies “with all of their abilities.”

“Our battle today is a battle of attrition, and we will prolong it for the enemy, and they must know that the jihad will continue until Judgment Day,” he said.

The Islamic State lost the last of the territory it controlled in Iraq and Syria, the town of Baghuz, last month, but the group is believed to still have thousands of fighters there who have gone underground.

As it lost territory in the Middle East, the Islamic State has expanded abroad, turning to its international affiliates to carry out attacks further afield. The coordinated bombing attack in Sri Lanka last week was one of the group’s...