IS confirms leader Abu al-Hussein is dead

Reuters reported on August 3 that the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) confirmed the death of its leader, Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi, and announced the new leader as Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Quraishi. There is no further information about this new leader.

According to an IS spokesperson on the organization's Telegram channel, leader Abu al-Hussein was killed in a clash in northwestern Syria. Specifically, he was "killed after a direct clash" with the extremist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in Idlib province.

IS xác nhận thủ lĩnh Abu al-Hussein đã thiệt mạng và công bố người thay thế - Ảnh 1. — IS says leader Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi is dead

The statement did not specify when Abu al-Hussein died. Earlier, AFP quoted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying that the IS leader was killed in an operation in Syria on April 30, conducted by Ankara's MIT intelligence agency.

IS announced the death of its previous leader Abu Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi on November 30, 2022, and his replacement, Abu Hussein al-Qurashi.

On April 30, Turkish intelligence services and local military police backed by Türkiye sealed off an area in the town of Jindires in Syria’s northwestern Afrin region. Some residents said an operation had been launched against an abandoned farm that was used as an Islamic school.

Türkiye has deployed troops to northern Syria since 2020 and controls the entire area with the help of several Syrian groups.

The US launched a helicopter campaign in Syria in mid-April, saying IS was planning attacks in Europe and the Middle East.

The US Central Command said it had killed an IS leader in that operation, identifying him as Abd-al Hadi Mahmud al-Haji Ali. IS militants are suspected of killing at least 41 people in Syria on April 16.

In the first week of April, US forces said they had killed an IS leader responsible for planning attacks in Europe, identifying him as Khalid Aydd Ahmad al-Jabouri.

Source link