The Islamic State jihadist group confirmed the death of its leader Abu Ibrahim al-Quraishi in a statement on Thursday and named Abu Hassan al-Hashimi al-Quraishi as his replacement.
The announcement comes more than a month after the IS chief died during a US raid that saw soldiers helicoptering over northwestern Syria into an area controlled by rival jihadists.
The group’s spokesman said in an audio recording released on its social media channels, IS personnel have “pledged allegiance” to “Abu Hassan al-Hashmi al-Quraishi” as the Caliph of believers and Muslims.
The recording confirmed the death of the former IS chief, along with a former spokesman for the group.
The new spokesman, identified as Abu-Umar al-Muhajjir, said, “Abu Ibrahim al-Quraishi and the Islamic State group’s official spokesman … Abu Hamza al-Quraishi … were killed in recent days.”
Little is known about the new leader, who will serve as the group’s third head since its inception.
Main photo: People inspect a house destroyed after an operation by the US military in the Syrian village of Atmay in Idlib province, Syria, Thursday, February 3, 2022; Inset: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi, the second leader of the Islamic State. (AP Photo/Gaith Alsayed; Courtesy)
According to White House and US defense officials, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi died when he detonated a bomb to evade capture.
His death, on February 3 in the city of Atmay, was the biggest blow to IS since his own predecessor, the better known Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed in a 2019 raid by US commandos in the same Syrian region of Idlib.
According to an IS audio statement, Abu Hassan al-Quraishi was supported by Abu Ibrahim before his death and his appointment was confirmed by senior leaders of the group.
The recording did not provide further details.
Abu Hassan al-Quraishi is at the helm at a time when the group has been weakened by US-backed operations in Iraq and Syria aimed at thwarting a jihadist resurgence.
IS’s self-proclaimed caliphate, established since 2014, once spanned vast parts of Syria and Iraq and administered millions of residents.
IS fighters in armored vehicles from Iraqi security forces parade down a main street in the northern city of Mosul, Iraq, more than two weeks after the capture of the country’s second largest city, June 23, 2014. (AP photo)
A long and deadly military battle led by Kurdish-Syrian and Iraqi forces with the support of the US and other powers finally defeated the jihadist proto-state in March 2019.
IS remnants in Syria have mostly moved to desert bases, from where they continue to harass Kurdish-led forces and Syrian government troops.
Jihadists have also continued to launch attacks from bases in Iraq.
A United Nations report last year estimated that there were around 10,000 IS fighters active in the two countries.
The death of Abu Ibrahim al-Quraishi in February came two weeks after IS attacked fellow jihadists in a northeastern Syria prison.
Attempts to break the prison from the sprawling Ghaweran complex in the northeastern city of Hasakeh sparked a week-long struggle in and around the facility, killing hundreds.
But according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights War Monitor, hundreds of IS prisoners, including senior leaders, fled, some of whom went to neighboring Turkey or to Turkish-held territory in the north of Syria.
