(Beirut) The jihadist group Islamic State (IS), which had established a regime of terror in Iraq and Syria before being defeated, announced on Wednesday the death of its leader, killed in action, and the appointment of a successor .
In an audio message, the group’s spokesman said that Abu Hassan al-Hachimi al-Qurachi, an Iraqi, died “while fighting the enemies of God”, without further details on the place, date or circumstances. of his death.
The US Middle East Military Command (Centcom) said Abu Hassan al-Hachimi al-Qurachi was killed in mid-October in southern Syria’s Daraa province by the Free Syrian Army. , a set of groups labeled as rebels by Washington.
Daraa province is mostly controlled by Syrian government forces and rebels who have made deals with the regime. In mid-October, Damascus announced that it had launched a joint operation against ISIS with local fighters in the south of this province.
“We welcome the announcement that another IS leader is no longer treading the earth,” said US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
“This death is a new blow to the terrorist organization. It cannot, however, lead to minimizing the persistent threat that it poses in Iraq and Syria, as well as in many other regions of the globe”, reacted the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The IS spokesman also announced that a new “caliph of Muslims”, Abu Al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurachi, had been appointed. This is the fourth head of the jihadist organization, the three previous ones having been killed.
He also gave no indication of the new leader of the group, who has the same last name as his predecessor. Al-Qurachi refers to the tribe of the Prophet Muhammad, from whom the self-proclaimed “caliph” must be a descendant.
According to the spokesperson, the new “caliph” is among the “former mujahideen” (fighters of the faith) of the group.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre declined to comment on possible US involvement in the operation that led to the death of the jihadist leader.
“We are happy to see the departures of IS leaders in such a rapid manner,” she told reporters. “The United States remains committed to countering the global threat created by ISIS and stands ready to work with our international partners,” she added.
Thousands of prisoners
After a meteoric rise in power in 2014 in Iraq and Syria and the conquest of vast territories, the IS saw its self-proclaimed “caliphate” being overthrown under the blow of successive offensives, in 2017 in Iraq and in 2019 in Syria.
But despite the loss of its strongholds in these two countries, the group continues to claim attacks there through sleeper cells.
The organization has also extended its influence to other regions of the world such as the Sahel region, Nigeria, Yemen and Afghanistan, where it regularly claims responsibility for attacks.
Thousands of suspected jihadists captured when the group was defeated are being held in Iraq and Syria.
The Sunni jihadist group had established a regime of terror in the regions under its control in Syria and Iraq, imposing strict application of Islamic law and carrying out numerous abuses, some of which were staged in unbearable videos, which have become a propaganda weapon.
He had persecuted minorities including the Yazidis in Iraq, the UN accusing him of “genocide” against them.
ISIS’s first leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi al-Qurachi, was killed in a 2019 US raid in Syria and his successor, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurachi, was killed last February in an operation American special forces in the northwest of this country.
The United States continued to target the organization’s second-tier leaders thereafter. In July, they announced that they had killed the leader of the IS group for Syria in a drone strike in the northwest of this country.