Islamic State chief in first video in 5 years

A week after a series of bombings rattled Sri Lanka in which more than 250 people were killed, the Islamic State's chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has appeared for the first time in a propaganda video since the declaration of the caliphate in 2015.

He seemed to be healthy but older with a bushy dyed beard. It is, however, still unclear when the footage was filmed.

Islamic State's Al Furqan media network published on Monday what it said was a video message from its leader, in which he said the group would seek revenge for the killing and imprisonment of its fighters, reported Al Jazeera.

The SITE Intelligence group said he also discussed the bombings in Sri Lanka that killed more than 250 people on Easter Sunday in an audio recording after the video ends.

He also talked about the month-long fight for Baghouz, Syria, the final bastion in eastern Syria, which ended last month.

He last appeared in 2014 during a sermon at the Great Mosque in Mosul. The speech marked the rise of self-declared "caliphate" of IS in Iraq and Syria.

However, Baghdadi has periodically issued an audio statement. His last audio voice was released in August 2018.

Al Jazeera has said that the script at the start of the video was dated in April.