With an audio message on Telegram, the spokesman for the Islamic state announced that its leader Abu al-Hassan al-Hashemi al-Quraishi he’s been killed. Abu al-Husayn al-Husani has now been chosen instead of him al-Qurashi.
Not only Al Zawahiri, from Afghanistan to Syria who are the jihadist leaders killed by the US
by Enrico Franceschini
The new head of the organization is the fourth “caliph” of ISIS after the 2019 killing of the founder and first leader of the Islamic State Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and that last February by Abu Ibrahim Hashimi al Qurashi. Both Abu Bakr al Baghdadi and Abu Ibrahim had been killed in US raids in northwestern Syria. However, it is not clear when and where the third ISIS leader, Abu al Hassan al Hashimi al Qurashi, whose death was announced today, was killed.
The title “Qurashi” refers to the name of the tribe of Muhammad and to which the successor must belong (Arabic: khalifa, caliph) of the same prophet of Islam. Unlike other times, Isis announced today the appointment of a successor in conjunction with the spread of the news of the death of his predecessor, thus leaving no room for interpretations on possible power struggles at the top of the organization.
According to Rita Katz, director of the Site group which monitors the online activities of jihadist groups, the news of the killing, which comes about a year after his appointment as “caliph”, contradicts those “of a capture of Abu al-Hassan in Turkey “.
The reaction of the White House
The White House “welcomes” the announcement of the killing of ISIS leader Abu al-Hassan al-Hashemi al-Quraishi. “It’s good that another ISIS leader is no longer on the face of the earth,” said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, who did not officially confirm the news of al-Quraishi’s death.