The leader of the Islamic State terrorist group has released a new purported audio recording, the first in almost a year.

The 54-minute audio entitled “Give Glad Tidings to the Patient” was released by the extremist group’s central media division, al-Furqan Foundation Wednesday evening.

The whereabouts of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and the question of whether he is dead or alive have been a continuing source of mystery and confusion. The group has lost more than 90 percent of lands it once controlled in Iraq and Syria where the group declared a caliphate in June 2014.

Al-Baghdadi’s last audio message was on September 28, 2017 in which he called on his followers to burn their enemies everywhere and target “media centers of the infidels.”

(AP)