Leader of Islamic State, Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi has been killed in a recent special forces operation.
The terrorist group media affiliate al-Furqan made this known in an audio recording by an ISIS spokesman announcing, according to CNN on Wednesday.
It was learnt that the deceased leader was appointed in March this year following the death of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi in a military operation in the northwest of Syria.
“I announce and mourn for the Islamic State and the fighters of almighty Islamic State, (the absence) of the Amir of believers and the Calipha of the Muslims Abu al-Hasan al-Hashmi al-Qurayshi…he was killed while struggling against the enemies’ of God,” spokesman Abu Omar al-Muhajer said.
While the details of al-Qurayshi’s demise were not yet clear, the US National Security Council coordinator, John Kirby reacted to the news.
“We certainly welcome the news of the death of another ISIS leader. I don’t have any additional operational details to provide (at) this time. We’re still working our way through that,” Kirby said.
The CNN report said the group immediately announced Abu al-Husain al-Husaini al-Quraishi as its new leader.
Little is known about him, but the group described him as an “old fighter” without mentioning any further details.
