Terrorist Group Islamic State Names New Leader, Confirms Death Of Former Chief

The Islamic State named Abu Hasan al-Hashemi al-Qurashi on Thursday following the death of its leader Abu Ibrahim Al-hashemi Al-Quraishi. The new ISIS leader took over after Abu Ibrahim Al-hashemi Al-Quraishi, formerly a member of Iraq’s ex-president Saddam Hussein’s army, detonated himself in February after the US army tracked him down.

“Abu Ibrahim al-Qurashi and the official Islamic State group spokesman. Abu Hamza al-Qurashi, were killed in recent days,” the Islamic State announced via an audio message. News agencies reported that the audio message was sent by Abu-Omar al-Muhajjir, who is also the group’s new spokesperson.

There is not much known about Abu Hasan al-Hashemi al-Qurashi. The new ISIS leader will have a depleted force but ISIS’s influence in Sahel regions in sub-Saharan Africa and spontaneous attacks on the borders of Iraq, Syria, Kurds-controlled Kurdistan and Iran still reflect that there is a credible threat from the terrorist group.

In mid-January this year, the Islamic State raised fears regarding its resurgence when it attacked a prison in the city of Hasakeh in Syria in an attempt to free their comrades.

At least 180 IS jihadists, 73 members of Kurdish-led forces and seven civilians died in those attacks. The Islamic State jihadists continue their atrocities in western African nations under the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) along with Boko Haram promoting instability in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and other nations in the region. They have also targeted gold mining operations in west Africa to fund their operations, according to a report by CQ Researcher.

The rise of Islamic State’s Pakistan-Afghanistan wing – the Islamic State-Khorasan or IS-K – is also a worry for governments in India as it uses Pakistani and Afghanistan soil to spread instability and terrorism in the region. The group has more than 3,000 active fighters and is also a threat to the other terrorist group the Taliban, which seized power in 2021 after ousting the United States from Afghanistan after two decades.

The terrorist group which ruled large parts of Syria and Iraq while unleashing terror and killing several thousands of civilians, security personnel and dissidents. It also led to migration of thousands from Syria and Iraq. ISIS was also responsible for attacks outside Iraq and Syria as well.

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