IS leader calls on supporters to 'hide or run'

Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi issued a "farewell message" to supporters, calling on supporters to "hide or flee" into the mountainous regions of Iraq and Syria amid defeats. This was reported by the Iraqi TV channel Alsumaria, citing a source in the province of Nineveh, where fighting for Mosul has been going on for the past six months.

Foreign ISIS fighters were allegedly encouraged by the terrorist leader to return home or become suicide bombers.

The appeal, according to the TV channel, was distributed on February 28 among the clergy who belonged to the ranks of IS. There is no confirmation of this information from other sources.

Many high-ranking IS fighters have fled Iraqi territory for Syria after defeats in recent weeks, the channel's source said.

• Terrorists from the "Islamic State" control territories in Iraq and Syria. Since the fall of 2016, the Iraqi military, with the support of the international coalition, managed to recapture a significant part of Mosul, the largest city under the control of terrorists, from the militants. According to Reuters, on March 1, the last major road leading from the IS-controlled areas of Mosul was seized.
• In February 2017, the Islamic State also lost the city of Al-Bab, which it had held since 2013. Under the control of the terrorists remains, in particular, the Syrian Raqqa, which is called the "capital" of the ISIS. Kurdish rebels are attacking this city.