Islamic State announces death of organization leader, names successor

leadership of Islamic state, Abu al Hasan al Hashimi al Qurashi had his death confirmed this Wednesday, 30, by the organization itself. He had been at the head of the terrorist group since March of this year and named Abu al Hussein al Husseini al Qurashi as his successor. The information was disclosed by an audio made available by the producer Al Furqan, which has connections with the jihadists. “I regret to announce to Muslims and the soldiers of the Islamic Caliphate the death of the Prince of Believers, Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, during a battle in which he was fighting the enemies of Allah,” said spokesman Abu Omar al Mohajer on audio. Al Qurashi’s appointment had also been made via audio message from an Islamic State spokesman and he was the third leader to command the group. He was the brother of former IS caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, according to two Iraqi security officials and a Western security source. Both Quraishi and Baghdadi died blowing themselves and their family members up during raids by the United States in their hideouts in northern Syria. Islamic State emerged from the chaos of civil war in neighboring Syria over the past decade and took over vast swaths of Iraq and Syria in 2014. Baghdadi declared an Islamic caliphate from a mosque in the Iraqi city of Mosul that year and proclaimed himself caliph of all Muslims.

*With information from the EFE agency