A cryptic new audio message purported to be from Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi appears to prove the shadowy ISIS strongman has cheated death yet again, despite Moscow's claims he was killed in battle. The ISIS leader then claimed Russia was taking the U.S. spot as a global power. Several officials and organizations claimed al-Baghdadi had died in the last few months, leaving many to wonder if the terror leader who's escaped numerous assassination attempts had finally been killed. Russian officials in July said it was a “high probability” that the leader died in a Russian airstrike on the outskirts of Raqqa, Syria a month earlier. The emergence of the leader comes more than two months after U.S.-backed Iraqi forces declared “total victory” over ISIS in Mosul.

Source: Fox News September 28, 2017 16:33 UTC