Militant leader in Iraq shown making rare public appearance in video
Pledge comes amid urgent demands for a new government in face of Sunni militant insurgency
A video posted online yesterday purports to show the leader of the Islamic State extremist group that has overrun much of Syria and Iraq delivering a sermon at a mosque in Iraq, in what would be a rare - if not the first - public appearance by the shadowy militant.
The hitherto elusive Islamic State (IS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is apparently shown delivering a sermon at a mosque in Mosul for Friday prayers, in which he orders Muslims to "obey" him and calls for global "jihad, or holy war".
The IS-led onslaught has alarmed world leaders, displaced hundreds of thousands and piled pressure on Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as he seeks a third term in office.
A video posted on social media yesterday showed a portly man clad in a long black robe and a black turban with a long greying beard addressing worshippers at weekly prayers at a mosque in central Mosul.
"I am the wali (leader) who presides over you, though I am not the best of you, so if you see I am right, assist me," said the man, purportedly Baghdadi. "If you see I am wrong, advise me and put me on the right track, and obey me as long as I obey God."
Text superimposed on the video identified the man as "Caliph Ibrahim", the name Baghdadi has gone by since the group on June 29 declared a pan-Islamic "caliphate", a system of governance last seen in Ottoman times. The video could be the first official appearance by Baghdadi, according to Aymenn al-Tamimi, an expert on Islamist movements, though the jihadist leader may have appeared in a 2008 video under a different name.