IS chief ends death rumours with audio release

The head of the extremist Islamic State group has said it will fight to the last man.

The comments by the militant group’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, came in an audio statement, his first since a US-led alliance began conducting airstrikes targeting the group in Iraq and Syria.

In the statement, released on social media networks, he says his fighters “will never leave fighting, even if only one soldier remains”.