IS Group Releases Message Purportedly From Leader

Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (file photo)

The Islamic State (IS) extremist group has released an audio message it says is from its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The message posted on militant websites on May 14 exhorts Muslims to fight on behalf of the group's self-declared caliphate straddling Iraq and Syria.

It was not immediately possible to verify whether the voice was Baghdadi's.

Last month, reports claimed that Baghdadi was incapacitated in a U.S.-led coalition air strike, but the Pentagon said at the time there was no reason to think he had been wounded.

Based on reporting by AFP and AP