Story highlights
- Video purports to show ISIS leader delivering a sermon in Mosul
- A suicide car bombing kills at least seven people and wounds 14 in Baghdad
- Iraq's parliament has been postponed for at least a month, state-run Iraqiya TV says
- Fighters form defensive lines around main airport, which is considered a top ISIS target
The United States "has no reason to doubt" the authenticity of a video that purports to show ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi delivering a sermon at the Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul, two U.S. officials said.
While the United States cannot absolutely guarantee it is the notoriously elusive leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the working assumption by the government is that it is him, according to the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
If it is al-Baghdadi, it may just reveal how comfortable the ISIS leader is after his fighters took control of Iraq's second-largest city.
"Iraqi agencies are still investigating the video and comparing it with its intelligence," Iraq's military spokesman, Lt. Gen. Qassim Atta, said on Monday.
ISIS, an al Qaeda splinter group, has seized large areas of northern and western Iraq in an offensive that began last month.
Al-Baghdadi is known to the United States as Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim Al Badry. He was taken into custody in Fallujah in the Anbar province on February 4, 2004, according to a Pentagon statement.
There have been mixed reports about when and why he was detained. He was held until the following December at a a prison at Camp Bucca, according to the Pentagon. A review board recommended his "unconditional release," the statement said.
Iraqi Army braces for combat 02:30
While the Pentagon said al-Baghdadi was from Fallujah, other reports have said he is from Samarra, north of Baghdad.
Parliament postponed
State-run Iraqiya TV said Monday that Parliament has been postponed for at least a month, a day before lawmakers were scheduled to return to form a new government and begin the process of selecting a prime minister.
Citing sources in Parliament, Iraqiya reported that the session was postponed until August 12 because the political parties have been unable to reach a consensus on who to name to country's top leadership posts. Those include the speaker, the president and the prime minister.
A week ago, Iraq's Parliament postponed its first session, citing a lack of a quorum after 90 lawmakers walked out.
Suicide car bomb in Baghdad
A suicide car bomb exploded in heavy traffic at a security checkpoint in Baghdad's Kadhimiya neighborhood on Monday, killing at least seven people and wounding 14, security officials told CNN. The death toll is expected to rise, they said.
The bomb exploded at about 1 p.m. near the checkpoint, which created a sort of bottleneck of traffic. The explosion occurred less than mile (1 kilometer) from the Kadhimiya shrine, which is revered by Shiites.
The bombing follows a double bombing last week in the same area that killed at least 25 people and wounded 32.
Iraqi security forces commander killed
A Twitter account widely believed to be linked to the ISIS in Salaheddin province claimed in a post that its fighters killed an Iraqi military commander.
According to the post, Iraqi Army Col. Ibrahim Abdullah Hussein was killed. It posted what it claimed was a picture of Hussein's corpse as well as a photograph of his ID card.
CNN cannot independently confirm the claim. Some militant groups are known to release pictures of ID cards as evidence of deaths.
British ambassador: Baghdad warned repeatedly
Britain's ambassador to Iraq says Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government was warned repeatedly over the past several months about the threat posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
"The fact that Mosul was vulnerable was known," Ambassador Simon Collis said on CNN's Amanpour show.
"The fact that ISIL were already holding territory from last year in parts of western Iraq, in Anbar, and elsewhere was well known."
Collis said Britain's message to al-Maliki's government was always the same: "Any comprehensive counterterrorism strategy would need a political line of operation, an economic and development line of operation, as well as of course security operations."
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Wounded passengers are treated following a suicide bombing at the Brussels Airport on March 22, 2016. The attacks on the airport and a subway killed 32 people and wounded more than 300. ISIS claims its "fighters" launched the attacks in the Belgian capital.
Hide Caption
1 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Syrians gather at the site of a double car bomb attack in the Al-Zahraa neighborhood of the Homs, Syria, on February 21, 2016. Multiple attacks in Homs and southern Damascus kill at least 122 and injure scores, according to the state-run SANA news agency. ISIS claimed responsibility.
Hide Caption
2 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Syrian pro-government forces gather at the site of a deadly triple bombing Sunday, January 31, in the Damascus suburb of Sayeda Zeynab. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, according to a statement circulating online from supporters of the terrorist group.
Hide Caption
3 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Yemenis check the scene of a car bomb attack Sunday, December 6, in Aden, Yemen. Aden Gov. Jaafar Saad and six bodyguards died in the attack, for which the terror group ISIS claimed responsibility.
Hide Caption
4 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Investigators check the scene of a mosque attack Friday, November 27, in northern Bangladesh's Bogra district. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack that left at least one person dead and three more wounded.
Hide Caption
5 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Wounded people are helped outside the Bataclan concert hall in Paris following a series of coordinated attacks in the city on Friday, November 13. The militant group ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks, which killed at least 130 people and wounded hundreds more.
Hide Caption
6 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Emergency personnel and civilians gather at the site of a twin suicide bombing in Beirut, Lebanon, on Thursday, November 12. The bombings killed at least 43 people and wounded more than 200 more. ISIS appeared to claim responsibility in a statement posted on social media.
Hide Caption
7 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Smoke rises over the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar on November 12. Kurdish Iraqi fighters, backed by a U.S.-led air campaign, retook the strategic town, which ISIS militants overran last year. ISIS wants to create an Islamic state across Sunni areas of Iraq and Syria.
Hide Caption
8 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Syrian government troops walk inside the Kweiras air base on Wednesday, November 11, after they broke a siege imposed by ISIS militants.
Hide Caption
9 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Members of the Egyptian military approach the wreckage of a Russian passenger plane Sunday, November 1, in Hassana, Egypt. The plane crashed the day before, killing all 224 people on board. ISIS claimed responsibility for downing the plane, but the group's claim wasn't immediately verified.
Hide Caption
10 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
An explosion rocks Kobani, Syria, during a reported car bomb attack by ISIS militants on Tuesday, October 20.
Hide Caption
11 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Shiite fighters, fighting alongside Iraqi government forces, fire a rocket at ISIS militants as they advance toward the center of Baiji, Iraq, on Monday, October 19.
Hide Caption
12 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Smoke rises above a damaged building in Ramadi, Iraq, following a coalition airstrike against ISIS positions on Saturday, August 15.
Hide Caption
13 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Iraqi men look at damage following a bomb explosion that targeted a vegetable market in Baghdad on Thursday, August 13. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.
Hide Caption
14 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
In this image taken from social media, an ISIS fighter holds the group's flag after the militant group overran the Syrian town of al-Qaryatayn on Thursday, August 6, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. ISIS uses modern tools such as social media to promote reactionary politics and religious fundamentalism. Fighters are destroying holy sites and valuable antiquities even as their leaders propagate a return to the early days of Islam.
Hide Caption
15 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
An ISIS fighter poses with spoils purportedly taken after capturing the Syrian town of al-Qaryatayn.
Hide Caption
16 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Smoke rises as Iraqi security forces bomb ISIS positions in the eastern suburbs of Ramadi, Iraq, on August 6.
Hide Caption
17 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Buildings reduced to piles of debris can be seen in the eastern suburbs of Ramadi on August 6.
Hide Caption
18 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
The governor of the Asir region in Saudi Arabia, Prince Faisal bin Khaled bin Abdulaziz, left, visits a man who was wounded in a suicide bombing attack on a mosque in Abha, Saudi Arabia, on August 6. ISIS claimed responsibility for the explosion, which killed at least 13 people and injured nine others.
Hide Caption
19 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Saudi officials and investigators check the inside of the mosque on August 6.
Hide Caption
20 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Mourners in Gaziantep, Turkey, grieve over a coffin Tuesday, July 21, during a funeral ceremony for the victims of a suspected ISIS suicide bomb attack. That bombing killed at least 31 people in Suruc, a Turkish town that borders Syria. Turkish authorities blamed ISIS for the attack.
Hide Caption
21 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Protesters in Istanbul carry anti-ISIS banners and flags to show support for victims of the Suruc suicide blast during a demonstration on Monday, July 20.
Hide Caption
22 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
People in Ashmoun, Egypt, carry the coffin for 1st Lt. Mohammed Ashraf, who was killed when the ISIS militant group attacked Egyptian military checkpoints on Wednesday, July 1. At least 17 soldiers were reportedly killed, and 30 were injured.
Hide Caption
23 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Syrians wait near the Turkish border during clashes between ISIS and Kurdish armed groups in Kobani, Syria, on Thursday, June 25. The photo was taken in Sanliurfa, Turkey. ISIS militants disguised as Kurdish security forces infiltrated Kobani on Thursday and killed "many civilians," said a spokesman for the Kurds in Kobani.
Hide Caption
24 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Residents examine a damaged mosque after an Iraqi Air Force bombing in the ISIS-seized city of Falluja, Iraq, on Sunday, May 31. At least six were killed and nine others wounded during the bombing.
Hide Caption
25 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
People search through debris after an explosion at a Shiite mosque in Qatif, Saudi Arabia, on Friday, May 22. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, according to tweets from ISIS supporters, which included a formal statement from ISIS detailing the operation.
Hide Caption
26 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Iraqi soldiers fire their weapons toward ISIS group positions in the Garma district, west of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, on Sunday, April 26. Pro-government forces said they had recently made advances on areas held by Islamist jihadists.
Hide Caption
27 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
A member of Afghanistan's security forces stands at the site where a suicide bomber on a motorbike blew himself up in front of the Kabul Bank in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, on Saturday, April 18. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack. The explosion killed at least 33 people and injured more than 100 others, a public health spokesman said.
Hide Caption
28 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Iraqi counterterrorism forces patrol in Ramadi on April 18.
Hide Caption
29 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Thousands of Iraqis cross a bridge over the Euphrates River to Baghdad as they flee Ramadi on Friday, April 17.
Hide Caption
30 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Yazidis embrace after being released by ISIS south of Kirkuk, Iraq, on Wednesday, April 8. ISIS released more than 200 Yazidis, a minority group whose members were killed, captured and displaced when the Islamist terror organization overtook their towns in northern Iraq last summer, officials said.
Hide Caption
31 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Kurdish Peshmerga forces help Yazidis as they arrive at a medical center in Altun Kupri, Iraq, on April 8.
Hide Caption
32 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
A Yazidi woman mourns for the death of her husband and children by ISIS after being released south of Kirkuk on April 8. ISIS is known for killing dozens of people at a time and carrying out public executions, crucifixions and other acts.
Hide Caption
33 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
People in Tikrit inspect what used to be a palace of former President Saddam Hussein on April 3.
Hide Caption
34 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
On April 1, Shiite militiamen celebrate the retaking of Tikrit, which had been under ISIS control since June. The push into Tikrit came days after U.S.-led airstrikes targeted ISIS bases around the city.
Hide Caption
35 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Iraqi security forces launch a rocket against ISIS positions in Tikrit on Monday, March 30.
Hide Caption
36 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
The parents of 19-year-old Mohammed Musallam react at the family's home in the East Jerusalem Jewish settlement of Neve Yaakov on Tuesday, March 10. ISIS released a video purportedly showing a young boy executing Musallam, an Israeli citizen of Palestinian descent who ISIS claimed infiltrated the group in Syria to spy for the Jewish state. Musallam's family told CNN that he had no ties with the Mossad, Israel's spy agency, and had, in fact, been recruited by ISIS.
Hide Caption
37 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Iraqi Shiite fighters cover their ears as a rocket is launched during a clash with ISIS militants in the town of Al-Alam, Iraq, on Monday, March 9.
Hide Caption
38 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Displaced Assyrian women who fled their homes due to ISIS attacks pray at a church on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, on Sunday, March 1. ISIS militants abducted at least 220 Assyrians in Syria.
Hide Caption
39 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Safi al-Kasasbeh, right, receives condolences from tribal leaders at his home village near Karak, Jordan, on Wednesday, February 4. Al-Kasasbeh's son, Jordanian pilot Moath al-Kasasbeh, was burned alive in a video that was recently released by ISIS militants. Jordan is one of a handful of Middle Eastern nations taking part in the U.S.-led military coalition against ISIS.
Hide Caption
40 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
A Kurdish marksman looks over a destroyed area of Kobani on Friday, January 30, after the city had been liberated from the ISIS militant group. The Syrian city, also known as Ayn al-Arab, had been under assault by ISIS since mid-September.
Hide Caption
41 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Kurdish people celebrate in Suruc, Turkey, near the Turkish-Syrian border, after ISIS militants were expelled from Kobani on Tuesday, January 27.
Hide Caption
42 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Collapsed buildings are seen in Kobani on January 27 after Kurdish forces took control of the town from ISIS.
Hide Caption
43 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Junko Ishido, mother of Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, reacts during a news conference in Tokyo on Friday, January 23. ISIS would later kill Goto and another Japanese hostage, Haruna Yukawa.
Hide Caption
44 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
ISIS militants are seen through a rifle's scope during clashes with Peshmerga fighters in Mosul, Iraq, on Wednesday, January 21.
Hide Caption
45 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
An elderly Yazidi man arrives in Kirkuk after being released by ISIS on Saturday, January 17. The militant group released about 200 Yazidis who were held captive for five months in Iraq. Almost all of the freed prisoners were in poor health and bore signs of abuse and neglect, Kurdish officials said.
Hide Caption
46 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Smoke billows behind an ISIS sign during an Iraqi military operation to regain control of the town of Sadiyah, about 95 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad, on Tuesday, November 25.
Hide Caption
47 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Fighters from the Free Syrian Army and the Kurdish People's Protection Units join forces to fight ISIS in Kobani on Wednesday, November 19.
Hide Caption
48 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
A picture taken from Turkey shows smoke rising after ISIS militants fired mortar shells toward an area controlled by Syrian Kurdish fighters near Kobani on Monday, November 3.
Hide Caption
49 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Iraqi special forces search a house in Jurf al-Sakhar, Iraq, on Thursday, October 30, after retaking the area from ISIS.
Hide Caption
50 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
ISIS militants stand near the site of an airstrike near the Turkey-Syria border on Thursday, October 23. The United States and several Arab nations have been bombing ISIS targets in Syria to take out the militant group's ability to command, train and resupply its fighters.
Hide Caption
51 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Kurdish fighters walk to positions as they combat ISIS forces in Kobani on Sunday, October 19.
Hide Caption
52 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Heavy smoke rises in Kobani following an airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition on October 18.
Hide Caption
53 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Cundi Minaz, a female Kurdish fighter, is buried in a cemetery in the southeastern Turkish town of Suruc on Tuesday, October 14. Minaz was reportedly killed during clashes with ISIS militants in nearby Kobani.
Hide Caption
54 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Kiymet Ergun, a Syrian Kurd, celebrates in Mursitpinar, Turkey, after an airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition in Kobani on Monday, October 13.
Hide Caption
55 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Alleged ISIS militants stand next to an ISIS flag atop a hill in Kobani on Monday, October 6.
Hide Caption
56 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
A Kurdish Peshmerga soldier who was wounded in a battle with ISIS is wheeled to the Zakho Emergency Hospital in Duhuk, Iraq, on Tuesday, September 30.
Hide Caption
57 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Syrian Kurds wait near a border crossing in Suruc as they wait to return to their homes in Kobani on Sunday, September 28.
Hide Caption
58 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
A elderly man is carried after crossing the Syria-Turkey border near Suruc on Saturday, September 20.
Hide Caption
59 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
A Kurdish Peshmerga fighter launches mortar shells toward ISIS militants in Zumar, Iraq, on Monday, September 15.
Hide Caption
60 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Kurdish Peshmerga fighters fire at ISIS militant positions from their position on the top of Mount Zardak, east of Mosul, Iraq, on Tuesday, September 9.
Hide Caption
61 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Displaced Iraqis receive clothes from a charity at a refugee camp near Feeshkhabour, Iraq, on Tuesday, August 19.
Hide Caption
62 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Aziza Hamid, a 15-year-old Iraqi girl, cries for her father while she and some other Yazidi people are flown to safety Monday, August 11, after a dramatic rescue operation at Iraq's Mount Sinjar. A CNN crew was on the flight, which took diapers, milk, water and food to the site where as many as 70,000 people were trapped by ISIS. But only a few of them were able to fly back on the helicopter with the Iraqi Air Force and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters.
Hide Caption
63 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Thousands of Yazidis are escorted to safety by Kurdish Peshmerga forces and a People's Protection Unit in Mosul on Saturday, August 9.
Hide Caption
64 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Thousands of Yazidi and Christian people flee Mosul on Wednesday, August 6, after the latest wave of ISIS advances.
Hide Caption
65 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
A Baiji oil refinery burns after an alleged ISIS attack in northern Selahaddin, Iraq, on Thursday, July 31.
Hide Caption
66 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
A Syrian rebel fighter lies on a stretcher at a makeshift hospital in Douma, Syria, on Wednesday, July 9. He was reportedly injured while fighting ISIS militants.
Hide Caption
67 of 68
Photos: The ISIS terror threat
Children stand next to a burnt vehicle during clashes between Iraqi security forces and ISIS militants in Mosul on Tuesday, June 10.
Hide Caption
68 of 68
U.S. intervention in Iraq possible 02:03
How ISIS amassed a fortune 06:53
On patrol with Baghdad's special forces 02:30
He continued, "And without that kind of comprehensive approach, it will be impossible to defeat an organization like ISIL."
ISIS is also referred to as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
Iraqi general killed
The commander of the Iraqi Army's 6th Division was killed in a battle on Monday, according to a statement released by the Prime Minister's office.
He was identified as Gen. Nagm Abdullah Ali. The statement did not detail how he died.
But Atta is quoted by Iraqi news organizations as saying he was killed in shelling in Ibrahim Bin Ali, a Sunni-dominated village about 16 miles north of Baghdad.
CNN could not independently confirm the claim.
Digging in around Baghdad
A commercial airliner roars overhead as one of the thousands of fighters who have taken up arms to protect the Iraqi capital digs into a position a few miles from Baghdad International Airport.
Every 500 feet (150 meters), another fighter armed with an AK-47 assault rifle takes up another position about 2 miles (3 kilometers) from the airport perimeter.
This is the first line of seven similar concentric lines of defense between the outskirts of the capital and the airport, widely believed by Iraqi and U.S. officials to be a top target of ISIS.
The fighters are members of the Badr Brigade, the Iranian-trained militia of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, a powerful Shiite political party in Iraq.
And they are officially taking up arms for the first time in more than a decade, reinforcing Iraq's military.
It was just one of the signs Monday of stepped-up security in and around Baghdad amid fears that ISIS fighters and allied Sunni insurgents already inside the city will launch attacks, such as a bombing campaign.
