Islamic State Confirms Leader’s Death, Announces Replacement

The Islamic State has announced a new leader and confirmed the death of its previous chief, who died in a U.S. counterterrorism operation in northern Syria over a month ago. In an audio recording released late last week, the Islamic State’s new spokesman, Abu Omar al-Muhajer, confirmed the death of the group’s leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, as well as that of its former spokesman. In the recording, the group claimed Qurayshi’s last battle occurred at the Ghuwayran prison in the northeastern Syrian city of Hasaka – but this battle concluded at the end of January and the U.S. raid to apprehend Qurayshi occurred three days later. Muhajer identified the Islamic State’s new leader as Abu Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi and noted the late Islamic State chief had chosen him.

The new leader’s real name is believed to be Juma Awad al-Badri. He is Iraqi and reportedly the elder brother of the late Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was killed by the U.S. in 2019, according to two Iraqi security officials. “Badri is a radical who joined Salafi jihadist groups in 2003 and was known to always accompany Baghdadi as a personal companion and Islamic law adviser,” one of the Iraqi security officials said. Badri has reportedly been a long-time member of the Islamic State’s Shura Council, a group of senior members who guide strategy and decide leadership succession. The Islamic State’s succession announcement further demonstrates the group’s resilience and the persisting threat it poses to U.S. interests. Furthermore, the group still possesses between 25 to 50 million dollars in reserves, according to a UN report written last December. Read more at Reuters and at NBC News.