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A man purported to be the reclusive leader of the militant Islamic State Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has made what would be his first public appearance at a mosque in the centre of Iraq's second city, Mosul, according to a video recording posted on the Internet on July 5, 2014, in this still image taken from video. There had previously been reports on social media that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi would make his first public appearance since his Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) changed its name to the Islamic State and declared him caliph. The Iraqi government denied that the video, which carried Friday's date, was credible. It was also not possible to immediately confirm the authenticity of the recording or the date when it was made. REUTERS/Social Media Website via Reuters TV (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE CONTENT OF THIS VIDEO, WHICH HAS BEEN OBTAINED FROM A SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITE - RTR3X9AW

Abu Bakr back in Syria, readying for battle against US

According to senior intelligence sources in Iraq, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,…
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Trump, Syria, and the Muslim Brotherhood

In 2012, then-US secretary of State Hillary Clinton was quot­ed…
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When the guns go silent who foots the bill? China is ready

signals from the Trump White House indicate that the new US President…
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In parched Damascus, selling water becomes mafia-run business

Plain clothed agents of Syria’s mukhabarat, or intelligence…
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Damascus goes dry as Syria’s grim water wars intensify

Days before Christmas, Damascus went dry due to an aerial attack…
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem (R) meeting with Chinese Special Envoy for Syria Xie Xiaoyan

Heading East via BRICS

Ten years ago, the Syr­ian government began implementing a Head­ing…
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‘Reconciliation’ part of Syria’s post-war education system

At the United Nations’ Middle East headquar­ters in Beirut…
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Sleepwalking toward federalism

Just a few years ago, any talk of a multi-state solution for…
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Aftershocks of the Egypt Spring hit Syria

The Egyptian elections - just like the revolution last year -…
President Hafez al-Assad and Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi in Damascus on 18 August 1971.

Gaddafi's Syrian Memories

I never got the chance to meet Moammar Gadhafi in person, although…