The fugitive leader of Isil appeared in a video released yesterday, the first time he has been seen in five years, and claimed that the Sri Lanka terrorist attacks were revenge for the fall of the so-called caliphate.

Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi has not been seen since he proclaimed the creation of the caliphate in a Mosul mosque in 2014, and there have been rumours that he was badly injured and in failing health.

However, in the new video he looked healthy, sitting cross-legged with an assault rifle at his side and the tips of his grey beard dyed orange.

He vowed to carry out revenge attacks against the West in retaliation for the fall of Baghuz, the town in eastern Syria where his fighters made a last stand to defend Isil-held territory against advancing Kurdish forces.

“Your brothers in Sri Lanka have pleased the hearts of the believers with their [suicide] attacks,” he said. “This is only part of the revenge awaiting the crusaders and their followers.”

Baghdadi, who is in his late forties, is one the world’s most wanted men, and Western intelligence agencies will be scouring the video for scraps of information which could reveal his location.

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