Making a rare public address on Christmas Day, the leader of the self-declared Islamic State (ISIS) Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi threatened to launch an attack on Israel in the coming days and called on Saudis to overthrow their rulers.
In his first public message in seven months dubbed as "alternative Christmas broadcast" on social media, Baghdadi also rallied followers of the terrorist group and warned Western "crusaders" against sending ground troops, The Telegraph reported.
He said ISIS fighters would soon be in Palestine to establish an Islamic state there. "Jews, soon you shall hear from us in Palestine which will become your grave," a voice ascribed to be that of Baghdadi, is heard saying in a 23-minute long audio message released through an ISIS-run Internet account.
"The Jews thought we forgot Palestine and that they had distracted us from it," Baghdadi says in the recording.
"Not at all, Jews. We did not forget Palestine for a moment. With the help of Allah, we will not forget it... The pioneers of the jihadist fighters will surround you on a day that you think is distant and we know is close. We are getting closer every day," he says.
Baghdadi said Western countries know that they will only suffer a humiliating defeat once they send ground troops to enemy territory, having "learned from" previous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Crusaders and Jews don't dare to come on the ground because they were defeated in Iraq and Afghanistan," he said.
Baghdadi has rarely been photographed and had been quiet since he was believed to have been injured in an airstrike by Iraqi forces in October.
Commenting on the Russian and US-led airstrikes, the ISIS leader says these had failed to weaken his group, which he says is even "expanding and getting stronger."
Rallying his troops, Baghdadi says: "Be confident that God will grant victory to those who worship him, and hear the good news that our state is doing well. The more intense the war against it, the purer it becomes and the tougher it gets."
He also urged the citizens of Saudi Arabia—who reportedly form the second biggest contributor to ISIS ranks—to "rise up" against their king even as he dismissed Saudi Arabia's newly formed Muslim coalition against ISIS.
On Saturday, ISIS suffered a major defeat after a U.S.-backed alliance of Syrian Kurds and Arab rebel groups, backed by coalition aircraft, captured an ISIS-held dam, cutting a main supply route of the militants across the Euphrates.
Col. Talal Selo said the rapid advance overnight by thousands of troops from the Democratic Forces of Syria had brought the dam, 15 miles upstream from the ISIS de facto capital Raqqa, under their control on Saturday afternoon.
