A discarded Islamic State flag lying on the ground in the Syrian village of Baghouz. Photo: AFP

Islamic State Group Declares Demise of Leader Following Clashes

The Islamic State organization announced on Thursday the passing of its leader, Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi, who it claims was lost in confrontations in northwestern Syria. A successor has been named to take his place.

According to a statement from an IS spokesperson via the Telegram messaging app, the leader “was eliminated after direct confrontations” with the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in Idlib province. The exact time of his passing was not specified in the announcement.

The spokesperson revealed the group’s new leader as Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. This marks the fifth leader of the organization.

In late April, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reported that the suspected IS leader had been neutralized in an operation carried out by Turkey’s MIT intelligence agency.

Images from Turkish media showed a secured building in a field, supposedly in Syria’s Afrin region, where it was believed he had been in hiding. Afrin lies in Aleppo province, neighboring Idlib, and is within an area controlled by Turkish-backed rebels.

However, the IS spokesperson asserted on Thursday that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which governs rebel-held territories in Idlib province, had executed the IS leader and handed his remains to Turkey.

IS accused HTS, although the latter has not claimed any operation targeting the IS leader, of working in favor of Ankara’s interests. HTS has been designated a terrorist group by the United States and other Western nations.

According to Turkey’s Anadolu state news agency, the MIT conducted a four-hour operation to locate the IS leader. When he realized he was about to be captured, he triggered his suicide vest. The operation did not result in any Turkish operatives being harmed.

After emerging prominently in Iraq and Syria in 2014 and conquering extensive territories, IS faced a series of offensives that led to the downfall of its self-proclaimed “caliphate.” The group’s harsh rule was marked by acts of terror including beheadings and mass shootings.

It was defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria two years later, but sleeper cells continue to perpetrate attacks in both countries.

In November of the previous year, IS reported the passing of its former leader, Abu Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. The leader before him, Abu Ibrahim al-Qurashi, was killed in February of the same year in a US operation in Idlib province.

The initial “caliph” of the group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was also killed in Idlib in October 2019.