A top leader of the militant group IS has been killed in a US airstrike in northwestern Syria. IS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi, along with his family, blew himself up during a February 3 operation in the Syrian city of Atmeh.
More than a month later, the group acknowledged that its top leader had been killed, and announced that a new leader had been named. The group’s new spokesman, identified as Abu Omar al-Muhajir, said on Thursday that Abu Ibrahim al-Quraishi and Islamic State spokesman Abu Hamza al-Quraishi had been killed in recent days.
Al-Muhajir said: “The new leader of IS is Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Quraishi. The slain top leader has chosen him as the next caliph. However, no details were available about the new leader of IS. It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post.
