Islamic State has a new leader following the deaths of its former chief and spokesperson.
On Thursday, the group announced Abu al-Hassan al-hashemi al-Quraishi (Abu al-Hassan) as its new leader.
The announcement comes after the death of the group's former leader Abu Ibrahim al-hashemi al-Quraishi (Abu Ibrahim) and its spokesperson Abu Hamza al-Quraishi (Abu Hamza) in February.
Abu Ibrahim, a religious scholar and soldier in former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's army, died in a US special forces raid in northern Syria in February when he detonated a bomb that killed him and his family members, the US administration said.
He was the leader of IS for a little over two years.
His death was another crushing blow to IS after the violent Sunni Muslim group lost longtime leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a similar raid in 2019.
Islamic State did not deny or confirm the US narrative and the new IS spokesman, Abu Umar al Muhajir, said in a recorded speech on Thursday that Abu Ibrahim's last battle was at Ghuwayran prison in the north-east Syrian city of Hasaka.
At least 200 prison inmates and militants, as well as 30 security force members, died in an Islamic State attack on the jail in January as the group sought to free its members, officials said.
Reuters/ABC
