The Islamic State (IS) group, defeated in Iraq and Syria, announced the death of the leader of the “jihadist” movement, Iraqi Abu Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, specifying that he was killed “as he fought against the enemies of Allah”.
In an audio message, the spokesman for the “jihadist” group, Abu Omar al-Muhajir, announced that Abu Al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi had been chosen as the “new caliph of the Muslims”.
“I am sorry to announce to the Muslims and the soldiers of the Islamic Caliphate the death of the Prince of the Faithful, Abu Hassan al-Hashemi al-Qurashi, in a battle in which he fought against the enemies of Allah,” a spokesman said. of the Islamic State. .
Abu Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi was elected leader of the IS group last March.
The group’s spokesman did not specify the circumstances surrounding the death of the group’s leader, the second of an IS leader in less than a year, but added that the choice of the new head was made after a meeting from the top. of the ‘jihadist’ movement.’.
The first leader of the IS group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi al-Qurashi, was killed in a 2019 US attack in Idlib province, a Syrian opposition stronghold in the northeastern part of the country, and his successor, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi was shot down on February 3 this year during another special operation by US forces in the northwest of the country.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi al-Qurashi was proclaimed caliph by the Islamic State group in 2019, following the death of his predecessor, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Since the death of al-Baghdadi, the leaders of the Islamic State group began to include the name al-Qurashi in reference to the tribe of Quraysh, to which the Prophet Muhammad belonged.
After a meteoric rise to power in Iraq and Syria in 2014 and the conquest of vast territories, IS has seen its self-proclaimed “caliphate” toppled following successive military offensives in these two countries in 2017 and 2019 respectively.
Since then, the organization has been destabilized on several occasions by the death or imprisonment of some of its leaders.
Source: DN
