ISIS acknowledged the death of its leader on Wednesday and confirmed his successor.
The group’s media affiliate, al-Furqan, released an audio message from an ISIS spokesman announcing the death of the leader, who was appointed in March.
“I announce and mourn for the Islamic state and the fighters of the all-powerful Islamic state, the (absence) of the emir of the faithful and the caliph of the Muslims Abu al-Hasan al-Hashmi al-Qurayshi … he was killed fighting against the enemies of God,” the spokesman said. Abu Omar al-Muhajer in the message released on Wednesday.
ISIS did not make it clear who killed the group’s commander or where.
The group announced his successor, who will be Abu al-Husain al-Husaini al-Quraishi. Little is known about him, but the group described him as an “old warrior” without giving further details.
The late leader was named by ISIS in March 2022 after US President Joe Biden announced the death of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi in a military operation in northwestern Syria.