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Terror Networks
BREAKING: Islamic State says leader killed ‘in combat with enemies of God’
2022-11-30
The Times of Israel article is time-stamped 6:31 p.m. I understand Israel local time is six hours ahead of Eastern Time, meaning the report was published at 12:31 p.m. ET. Also, ULULULULULULULULULULULULU!!
[IsraelTimes] Jihadist group gives no further details on death of Abu Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, announces his replacement

The Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
jihadist group said Wednesday that its leader Abu Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi has been killed in battle and announced a replacement.

A front man for the group said Hashimi, an Iraqi, was killed "in combat with enemies of God," without elaborating on the date of his death or the circumstances.

Speaking in an audio message, the front man identified the group’s new leader as Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi.

Qurashi refers to a tribe of the Prophet Mohammed, from whom IS leaders must claim descent.

After a meteoric rise in Iraq and Syria in 2014 that saw it conquer vast swathes of territory, IS saw its self-proclaimed "caliphate" collapse under a wave of offensives.

It was defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria two years later, but sleeper cells of the Sunni Moslem krazed killer group still carry out attacks in both countries and claim attacks elsewhere in the world.

IS’s previous leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Qurashi, was killed earlier this year in a US raid in Idlib province in northern Syria.

His predecessor Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed, also in Idlib, in October 2019.

This tweet was attached to the article:


Rudaw spells the name Abu al-Hassan al-Hashemi al-Qurashi.
Al Ahram adds:
The front man did not provide details on the new leader, but said he was a "veteran" jihadist and called on all groups loyal to IS to pledge their allegiance.

Hassan Hassan, who authored a book on IS, said one "unprecedented" but possible scenario was that the Hashimi "was killed 'accidentally' during a raid or fighting without him being known to whoever killed him".

In October this year, US forces killed a "senior" IS member in a pre-dawn raid in northeastern Syria, the US military's Central Command said at the time.

It said a later air strike had killed two other senior IS members.

The US leads a military coalition battling IS in Syria.

In July, the Pentagon said it had killed Syria's top IS jihadist in a dronezap in the north of the country.

US Central Command said he had been "one of the top five" IS leaders.

The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor...
in September said security forces had arrested a "senior executive" of IS known as Abu Zeyd, whose real name was Bashar Khattab Ghazal al-Sumaidai.

Ottoman Turkish media said there were some indications Sumaidai might have been the IS leader.
Related:
Bashar Khattab Ghazal al-Sumaidai: 2022-09-10 Senior executive of Daesh/ISIS terror group captured in Turkey
Posted by:trailing wife

#7  Another austere religious scholar.

My ass.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2022-11-30 17:49  

#6  In the on-deck circle - a fellating obituary by the New York Times.
Posted by: Raj   2022-11-30 17:48  

#5  "...And with that, we say 'Aloha!' to Abu Hassan, and look forward to meeting the new guy. Remember, the drone control van is open around the clock for your dining and dancing pleasure!"

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2022-11-30 16:45  

#4  From Shafaq News (Iraq) at 15:36 local time:

The US Central Command announced that a prominent ISIS leader was killed in Daraa, Syria.

“The death of Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi in mid-October is another blow to ISIS. This operation was conducted by The Free Syrian Army in Dar’a (Daraa) province in Syria.” The Command said in a statement.
Posted by: trailing wife   2022-11-30 16:18  

#3  I sure wouldn't want to be named the next head honcho.
Posted by: Chris   2022-11-30 15:04  

#2  Well that should do it! The Islamic terrorism problem has been solved. Mission accomplished!
Posted by: Spike the Hairy6811   2022-11-30 14:40  

#1  Wikipedia now pronounces him dead. Current information from the article:

Identity[edit]
Abu al-Hasan is his kunya. Al-Hashimi and al-Qurashi indicate that he claims to be a descendant of Muhammad, belonging to the Banu Hashim clan of the Quraysh tribe.

Al Ain News reported in March 2022 that al-Qurashi's real name is Zaid, an Iraqi national and the former emir of the Diwan of Education.[12] A May 2022 UNSC report expanded on this, claiming that the most likely candidate as to his real identity is an Iraqi national by the name of Bashar Khattab Ghazal al-Sumaida'i, also known as Haji Zaid,[13] stating:[14]

Abu al-Hassan’s identity is not yet established but has been much discussed among Member States, with Iraqi national Bashar Khattab Ghazal al-Sumaida’i cited as the most likely candidate. Some Member States suggested that al-Sumaida’i was arrested in Turkey near Istanbul in May; others maintain that he remains at large. ISIL has not yet commented.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan corroborated this after his arrest, claiming that al-Sumaida’i had been acting as the highest figure in ISIL since the death of former caliph Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi.[15] IS, however, have never named their caliph to be al-Sumaida’i, and denied that he is currently imprisoned.[11][16]

There are also other theories as to his identity. According to two unnamed Iraqi security officials, al-Qurashi's real name is Juma Awad al-Badri, and he is the elder brother of former IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Research by Iraqi historian Hisham al-Hashimi published in 2020 stated that al-Badri was head of the five-member Shura Council.[17]

Alleged arrest[edit]
On 26 May 2022, informed sources told Sky News Arabia that Abu al-Hasan was arrested in Istanbul, and that security forces had reported the arrest to Erdoğan, who was expected to announce the news about the suspect.[18][19] Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency later claimed that Turkish intelligence had been tracking his movements in Syria for a long period of time, and arrested him promptly after he illegally entered Turkey.[20] In July, a UN security council report stated that there is no available clarification regarding the Turkish claim.[13] ISIL denied the news in same month, in the 347th issue of its weekly newsletter Al-Naba.[11] On 8 September 2022, Erdoğan officially announced the arrest of Bashar Khattab Ghazal al-Sumaida'i, saying that he had been transferred to Judicial authorities after the arrest.[20][15] On 16 September 2022, Islamic State spokesperson Abu Umar al-Muhajir seemingly denied claims that their caliph had been arrested, calling on Muslims globally to pledge allegiance to him.[16]
Posted by: trailing wife   2022-11-30 13:56  

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