ISIS acknowledged the death of its leader Abu al-Hasan al-Hashmi al-Qurayshi on Wednesday and confirmed his successor.
US Central Command confirmed his death on Wednesday, saying the ISIS leader was killed in mid-October by the Free Syrian Army.
“This operation was conducted by The Free Syrian Army in Dar’a province in Syria,” it said in a statement, adding that while it was “another blow” to the group, “ISIS remains a threat to the region.”
ISIS’s media affiliate al-Furqan published an audio message by an ISIS spokesman announcing the death of its leader, who was appointed in March, but it did not make it clear who killed the group commander or where.
“Abu al-Hasan al-Hashmi al-Qurayshi … he was killed while struggling against the enemies’ of God,” spokesman Abu Omar al-Muhajer said in the message released Wednesday.
ISIS announced his successor, who goes by Abu al-Husain al-Husaini al-Quraishi. Little is known about him, but the group described him as an “old fighter” without mentioning any further details.
CNN