The Islamic State group (IS), formerly known as ISIS, has selected a new leader, a month after the previous leader was killed in a raid in Syria by US special forces.
On Thursday IS confirmed the death of former leader Abu Ibrahim al-Qurashi, who the US had reported had committed suicide in early February to escape capture.
The confirmation of the previous leader’s death was followed by an announcement of new leader Abu Hasan al-Hashemi al-Qurashi as ‘emir over believers and the caliph of Muslims’, a title which claims that he is the rightful successor to the prophet Muhammed and leader of all Muslims.
IS has become a shadow of its former self from its heights of capturing large regions of Syia and Iraq in 2014 after a combined effort by Kurdish, Iraqi and Western forces drove the group into hiding.
The group still maintains a presence in Syria and in recent years has begun to carry out attacks again, leading to fears that the group may be rebuilding.
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