Refugee children praise ISIS, vow to 'crush' apostates in videos from Syrian camps
In a disturbing new video, children purportedly at the al-Hol refugee camp in Syria are singing in praise of ISIS. The video is being circulated on pro-ISIS Telegram channels, and comes on the heels of two other videos which surfaced last week from al-Hol, featuring a group of black burqa-clad women beside an ISIS flag.
The leader of the Islamic State, in a new audio recording released Monday, called on members of the extremist group to free detainees and women held in jails and camps by any means necessary.
The purported audio by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, 48, was said to be his first public statement since April.
This 2019 image purports to show the leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, being interviewed. (Al-Furqan media via AP)
In a 30-minute recording released by the group’s media wing, the shadowy leader asked: "How can a Muslim enjoy life?" when Muslim women are held in camps he called "prisons of humiliation run by Crusaders and their Shiite followers."
With a $25 million U.S. bounty on his head, al-Baghdadi is the world’s most-wanted man. He is responsible for steering his violent organization into slaughtering opponents and either directing or inspiring terror attacks across continents.
ISIS was defeated in Iraq in 2017, while in Syria, it lost its last territory in March, marking the end of the extremists' self-declared caliphate. Despite these battlefield defeats, sleeper cells have continued to launch attacks in both Iraq and Syria.
In Syria, the centers are controlled by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which spearheaded the fight against ISIS in eastern Syria.
Despite these setbacks, al-Baghdadi accused the U.S. of being war-weary and bragged of the militants’ remaining presence in Africa, the Middle East, and East Asia.
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Al-Baghdadi concluded the message by telling “soldiers and supporters of the Caliphate everywhere” to avoid deviation and asked Allah to grant ISIS victory.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.