The leader of the militant group calling itself Islamic State (ISIL) has said a US-led military campaign in Iraq and Syria is failing.
Euronews can not independently verify an audio message purported to be in the name of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
“And soon the Jews and crusaders will be forced to come down to the battleground and send their ground forces to their deaths and destruction, by Allah’s permission.
“Here is Obama who has ordered the deployment of 15,000 additional soldiers under the claim that they are advisers because the crusaders’ airstrikes and constant bombardment, day and night, upon the positions of the Islamic State have not prevented its advance, nor weakened its resolve.”
The speech also called for attacks on Saudia Arabia and claimed the group’s self-declared caliphate was expanding into Libya, Egypt, Yemen and Algeria.
There were conflicting reports last weekend that al-Baghdadi had been wounded in an airstrike in Iraq’s Anbar province.
