Daesh leader 'killed in action', group announces, naming new chief

The Daesh Takfiri terrorist group says its leader Abu Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi has been killed "in action".

According to Press TV, speaking in an audio message, a spokesman for the terrorist group Abu Umar al-Muhajir confirmed Qurashi’s death on Wednesday and introduced Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi as his successor.

But he did not divulge further details on the date of his death or the circumstances surrounding it.

Turkish media said in May that Abu al-Hasan was caught during a raid at his hideout in Istanbul. He reportedly claimed he was made leader against his wishes.

Many, however, believe Abu al-Hasan was just a nom de guerre and the Takfiri group refrained from identifying the person behind the name.

Little is known about the terrorist group’s fourth chief since its inception in 1999 under Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The previous leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Qurashi, was reportedly killed earlier this year in Idlib Province in northern Syria. His predecessor Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed, also in Idlib, in October 2019.

Daesh began a campaign of terror in Iraq in 2014, overrunning vast swathes in lightning attacks across the region. Iraq declared victory over the terrorist group in December 2017 after a three-year counter-terrorism campaign, in which the PMU, known in Arabic as Hashd al-Sha’abi, also played a major role.