The Islamic State releases a new official audio of its spokesman.

The Islamic State (IS) released via its official media outlet responsible for leadership messages al-Furqan Media Foundation, on 13 September, a 36-minute audio statement by official spokesman Abu Umar al-Muhajir (debunking reports of his death in May 2022), entitled “And hold fast to the rope of God all together, and do not become divided”.

This is the third statement of 2022, following the announcement of the new caliph in March 2022 and the audio speech released in April 2022. Until now, it was always the spokesman of the group who issued the statement, never the leader of IS.

The new speech released by Abu Omar al-Muhajir does not address the recent rumours about the arrest of the caliph (or a senior leader) in Turkey.

The spokesman urges Muslims to “pay allegiance to your caliph”, suggesting that whoever is the caliph can still exercise authority, praises the prison breaks carried out by the Islamic State in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, asks why Muslims in so many places are holding back from supporting the Islamic State (e.g. in Iraq), and criticises Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and al-Qa'ida.