The chief of the so-called Islamic State blew himself up after he and his aides have been surrounded in Syria, a witness says.
Abu al-Hassan al-Hashemi al-Qurayshi was killed in an operation carried out by the insurgent Free Syrian Army (FSA) in Jasem within the northwestern Deraa province in mid-October, based on the US army.
Al-Quraishi’s loss of life and a successor have been introduced by IS on Wednesday – greater than a month later.
The militant group, which as soon as laid declare to swathes of territory throughout Syria and Iraq, nonetheless carries out sporadic assaults.
“The leader and a companion blew themselves up with suicide belts after our fighters succeeded in storming their hideout,” mentioned Salem al Horani a resident of Jasem and former fighter who participated within the siege of the three homes the place the IS cell was found.
Deraa province was introduced underneath the management of the Syrian military following Russian-brokered reconciliation agreements in 2018 that gave management of southern Syria again to Damascus.
The FSA had obtained backing from the West and Gulf states till they withdrew help in 2018, however its fighters remained within the space after the reconciliation offers underneath which they handed over heavy weapons however have been allowed to maintain gentle arms.
IS spokesman Omar al-Muhajer mentioned Al-Qurayshi “died fighting the enemies of God”.
Al-Qurayshi is the third chief to be killed since founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was hunted down by the Americans in a raid in northwest in October 2019.
Al-Muhajer mentioned Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurayshi was named because the group’s new chief.
None of the al-Qurayshis are believed to be associated. Al-Qurayshi just isn’t their actual title however comes from Quraish, the title of the tribe to which Islam’s Prophet Muhammad belonged.
IS claims its leaders hail from this tribe and “al-Qurayshi” serves as a part of an IS chief’s nom de guerre.
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Where is the Islamic State now?
IS emerged from the chaos of the civil struggle in Iraq and grew to embody large areas of Iraq and Syria in 2014.
It was notorious for its brutal rule throughout which it killed and executed hundreds of individuals and acted as a sponsor of terror assaults worldwide.
Former chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared an Islamic caliphate from a mosque within the northern Iraqi metropolis of Mosul that 12 months and proclaimed himself caliph of all Muslims.
However its reign was delivered to an finish in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria two years later.
The group and its associates proceed to hold out lethal assaults, together with on territory it as soon as claimed as a part of its caliphate.
Earlier this month, IS militants attacked an Iraqi military place within the northwestern governorate of Kirkuk, killing 4 troopers.
On Wednesday, a bomb blast hit a non secular college in northern Afghanistan killing no less than 10 college students, based on a Taliban official.
There was no fast declare of accountability however the assault got here amid a marketing campaign of violence by the Afghan affiliate of IS that has escalated because the Taliban took energy.
Source: information.sky.com”