The ISIS terror group said yesterday that its leader Abu Hasan al-Hashimi al-Quraishi has been killed in battle and announced a replacement.
According to Arabiya News, a spokesman for the terror group said Hashimi, an Iraqi, was killed “in combat with enemies of God”, without elaborating on the date of his death or the circumstances.
Quraishi refers to a tribe of the Prophet Mohammad, from whom ISIS leaders must claim descent.
Al-Jazeera says the spokesman, Abu Omar al-Muhajer, named the group’s new leader as Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Quraishi.
Little had been known about Abu Hasan al-Hashimi al-Quraishi, who took over the group’s leadership following the death of Abu Ibrahim al-Quraishi, his predecessor, in a US raid in February in northwest Syria’s Idlib province.
Al-Quraishi is believed to be a nom de guerre that various ISIL leaders have adopted.
Meanwhile, Voice of America (VOA) reported on November 30 that word from the ISIS terror group that it had lost its second leader in less than a year came as no surprise to the United States, which had been aware of his demise for more than a month.
U.S. Central Command reportedly later issued its own statement, confirming Abu al-Hassan was killed in mid-October in Syria’s southern Daraa province by the Free Syrian Army (FSA), a rebel group that does not partner with the U.S.
The ISIS group's leadership has reportedly suffered repeated blows from various quarters this year but US CENTCOM spokesman Colonel Joe Buccino said the group “remains a threat to the region.”
