The Islamic State militant group released a new audio recording late on Saturday, in which it claimed that the airstrikes launched by the United States-led coalition and Russia had not weakened the group, Reuters reported. The message, which is allegedly from IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi himself, said, “...Hear the good news that our state is doing well. The more intense the war against it, the purer it becomes and the tougher it gets.”

In the recording, al-Baghdadi also condemned Saudi Arabia’s involvement in establishing a coalition of Muslim nations to fight his group. “If it was an Islamic coalition, it would have declared itself free from its Jewish and Crusader lords and made the killing of Jews and the liberation of Palestine its goal,” he said in the message shared on Twitter accounts that have published statements by the terror group in the past. However, its authenticity could not be verified.

As part of efforts to strengthen military pressure on IS, a US-backed alliance said on Saturday that it had captured a Syrian dam from the group and cut off a major supply route across the Euphrates river. In addition, government troops in Iraq have intensified their attacks to regain the city of Ramadi from the militants.