The brand new chief of Daesh, whose appointment the group introduced yesterday, is the brother of slain former caliph Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, in keeping with two Iraqi safety officers and one Western safety supply, Reuters experiences.
Islamic State named its new chief Abu Al-Hassan Al-Hashemi al-Quraishi in a recorded audio message distributed on-line.
The announcement got here weeks after the loss of life final month of Abu Ibrahim Al-Quraishi, the person who in flip succeeded Al-Baghdadi in 2019 and have become the group’s second so-called caliph. Each Al-Baghdadi and Al-Quraishi died by blowing themselves and members of the family up throughout US raids on their hideouts in northern Syria.
Daesh has its roots in an insurgency towards US forces after they invaded Iraq and toppled Sunni Muslim dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003.
READ: Daesh leader blows himself up in US raid in north-west Syria, which killed 13 others
Daesh emerged from the chaos of the civil battle in neighbouring Syria final decade and took over huge swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014. Al-Baghdadi declared an Islamic caliphate from a mosque within the northern Iraqi metropolis of Mosul in 2014 and proclaimed himself caliph of all Muslims.
The group’s brutal rule, throughout which it killed and executed hundreds of individuals within the title of its slender interpretation of Islam, got here to an finish in Mosul when Iraqi and worldwide forces defeated the group there in 2017.
Its remaining hundreds of militants have lately principally hid out in distant territory however are nonetheless in a position to perform vital insurgent-style assaults.
The brand new chief’s actual title is Juma Awad Al-Badri, he’s Iraqi and Al-Baghdadi’s elder brother, two Iraqi safety officers advised Reuters right this moment. A Western safety official confirmed the 2 males have been brothers however didn’t specify which was older. The officers spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of they aren’t authorised to talk to media.
Little is thought about Al-Badri, however he comes from an in depth circle of shadowy, battle-hardened Iraqi jihadists who emerged within the aftermath of the 2003 US invasion.
“Badri is a radical who joined salafi jihadist teams in 2003 and was recognized to all the time accompany Baghdadi as a private companion and Islamic authorized adviser,” one of many Iraqi safety officers stated.
The official stated Al-Badri has lengthy been head of Daesh’s Shura Council, a management group that guides technique and decides succession when a caliph is killed or captured.
The audio recording asserting the brand new chief stated he had been named by Al-Quraishi as his successor earlier than his loss of life.
READ: Iraq provided intel to US operation that killed Daesh leader in Syria
