Isis leader's jihadi pledge repeatedly drowned out by squawking bird

Footage released by Al-Qaeda after overrunning rival terror group's camp

An Isis leader attempting to record a video in which he renews his allegiance to the terror group was repeatedly interrupted by a squawking bird.

The footage, shot by the Yemeni branch of Isis, shows the kneeling man check his notes before launching into an oath which is immediately drowned out by the animal's call.

The jihadi, identified as Abu Muhammad al-Adeni, also appears to struggle with his own nerves. He repeatedly forgets his lines and at one point is told by another militant to “stay calm, keep cool”.

Dr Elisabeth Kendall, a Middle East expert at Oxford University who shared the video, said the footage, which was shot in September 2017, was released by Al-Qaeda earlier this week in an attempt to mock its regional rival.

Al-Qaeda militants are likely to have discovered the out-takes after overrunning a camp in a Yemeni province in which Isis is losing its foothold.

“Heroic bird relentlessly drowns out ISIS-Y's attempt to renew allegiance to the caliph,” Dr Kendall tweeted, in reference to the Yemeni affiliate of Isis. “Leader's feeble memory adds to the woes ... These bodged ‘takes’ didn't make it into the official video of this solemn event, released end July.”

Dr Kendall later told The Independent: “One of the interesting things for me here is Al-Qaeda do counter-narratives better than we do, using humour and mockery in a local and very clever way."

The embarrassing out-takes come amid a resurgence by Isis, which has been steadily rebuilding its capabilities since the defeat of its Syrian and Iraqi caliphate in March this year.

In the time since, it has established “resurgent cells” in Syria and carried out assassinations, suicide attacks, abductions and arson of crops, a US government report has said.

The assessment by the Defence Department’s inspector general held Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from Syria partially responsible for the revival of the terror group, as it “decreased the support available for Syrian partner forces at a time when their forces need more training and equipping to respond to the Isis resurgence”.

It is a direct contradiction of Mr Trump’s repeated assertions that Isis has been defeated, and suggests that the president’s strategy may in fact be giving the group space to rebuild.