Islamic State on Thursday confirmed the death of its leader Abu Hussein al-Husseini al-Quraishi and named Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Quraishi as his replacement, the group’s spokesperson said in an undated recording published on its Telegram channel.
It appeared to be the militant group’s first official announcement on his fate since Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan said in April that Turkish intelligence forces had killed him in Syria.
Erdogan said the Turkish national intelligence organization had pursued Quraishi for a long time.
Quraishi was killed during a gun battle with Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), the main Islamist group that holds sway in the last opposition bastion in northwest Syria, the spokesman said.—Reuters
