A spokesperson for the militant group Islamic State (IS) said on Wednesday that its leader Abu Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi had been killed during combat with ‘enemy groups’.
The spokesperson, Abu Omar al-Muhajer, did not specify the circumstances or date of Hashimi’s death, nor did he clarify who the enemy groups were. He also announced that a new leader had been chosen as Hashimi’s replacement.
The new leader was revealed to be Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi, in an audio message by Abu Omar al-Muhajer, who did not give many details about the new leader apart from saying he was a ‘veteran jihadist’ and called on all IS-loyal groups to pledge their allegiance to him.
According to United States military’s CENTCOM, Abu Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi had been killed in mid-October. “This operation was conducted by The Free Syrian Army in Dar’a [Deraa] province in Syria. ISIS remains a threat to the region. CENTCOM and our partners remain focused on the enduring defeat of ISIS,” CENTCOM spokesman Colonel Joe Buccino said in a statement.
According to a report by Reuters, Syrian fighters had claimed that Hashimi had blown himself up after being surrounded by local fighters in the town of Jasem.
