Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

When he was announced as the successor of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, nothing was known about al-Qurashi other than the name he had been given by the Islamic State: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. His Arabic onomastic or nisbahal-Qurashisuggested that he, like Baghdadi, claimed a lineage to Muhammad's tribe of Quraysh, a position that offers legitimacy in some quarters. Al-Qurashi's name was believed to be a nom de guerre and his real name was unknown at the time. Muhammad Ali Sajit, the brother-in-law and aide of al-Baghdadi, who was caught in June 2019, also believed that "Hajji Abdullah", a top aide to al-Baghdadi, was al-Qurashi, the new leader. Rita Katz, director of SITE Intelligence Group, believed that it was unlikely that the Islamic State would "release any video speeches from this new leader or at least ones that show his face". Nonetheless, on 1 November 2019, then U.S. president Donald Trump stated on social media that the U.S. government had identified al-Qurashi's true identity. However, a report on 5 November 2019 by The National said that this "does not seem to be the case" and that "reports indicate that Iraqi, Kurdish and American officials say they don't have much to go on". The Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center correctly speculated on 5 November that al-Qurashi was of Iraqi nationality. The Small Wars Journal agreed with this assessment, stating that Iraqis constitute the majority of the Islamic State members and would not accept a non-Iraqi leader for the organisation. A report on 23 December 2019 by the Voice of America expressed doubt that al-Qurashi existed at all. It stated that the Islamic State was possibly caught off guard and announced a name as a holding move, to "create the impression it is on top of things". On 20 January 2020, The Guardian released a report confirming al-Qurashi's true identity as Amir Mohammed Abdul Rahman al-Mawli al-Salbi. On 20 May 2020, the Iraqi Intelligence Service identified a captured militant as al-Qurashi; however, the military clarified that this was actually Abdul Nasser Qardash, a potential successor to al-Baghdadi. Al-Qurashi was still outside Iraqi custody at the time. == Biography ==

Early life and education Al-Qurashi was born on 1 or 5 October 1976 Most sources—including al-Qurashi—state that he was born in al-Muhalabiyyah near Mosul, Iraq. Alternatively, Tal Afar has also been suggested as birthplace, His father was a muezzin with two wives; he had six brothers and nine sisters. but many sources have claimed that his family was Turkmen. majoring in Quranic studies and Islamic education. However, the truthfulness of these claims have been doubted by analysts. Hassan Hassan argued that "well-placed Iraqi sources" described the allegations of al-Qurashi having acted as informer as being "weak" and highly unlikely, as the Islamic State usually withheld any high-ranking commands from anyone that would have become a "snitch" which was not the case for al-Qurashi. The Islamic State also systematically enslaved captured Yazidi women; this move was controversial within the organization, with many Iraqi commanders opposing the practice. However, al-Qurashi was one of the most important supporters of the decision to revive slavery, and was backed by non-Iraqi IS members in this regard. Rise to power When IS began to lose more and more of its territory from 2016, al-Baghdadi ordered that the Islamic State should prepare for its return to an insurgency modus operandi. Al-Qurashi was put in charge of preserving the organization's finances and ideology in the face of repeated defeats. He was based at al-Qa'im until the town was captured by Iraqi security forces in October 2017, whereupon he relocated to Syria. being a religiously educated and experienced commander. At the time, IS described him as "the scholar, the worker, the worshipper", a "prominent figure in jihad", and an "emir of war". Less than a week after the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in October 2019, al-Qurashi was elected by a shura council as the new caliph of the Islamic State, Further evidence that al-Qurashi may have been appointed successor by Baghdadi may be inferred from the relatively quick succession of Baghdadi. The general expectation was that al-Qurashi would become "the leader of a frayed organisation that has been reduced to scattered sleeper cells" and the ruler of a "caliphate of ashes". In addition, journalist Feras Kilani pointed out that IS still commanded at least 10,000 militants in Syria and Iraq by al-Qurashi's rise to power, meaning that the "caliph without a caliphate" was far from defeated. Such direct and open criticism was the exception, however, and al-Qurashi quickly asserted his control over the Islamic State, maintaining its cohesion. IS supporters defended the secrecy surrounding al-Qurashi as being rooted in security concerns. In 2019, al-Qurashi received pledges of allegiance from the Islamic State's Sinai province and Bangladeshi affiliates (2 November), Somalia Province (3 November), Pakistan Province and Yemen Province (4 November), Hawran Province and Khorasan Province (5 November), Tunisia (6 November), West Africa province, Levant Province – Homs, Levant Province – al-Khayr, Levant Province – Raqqa, East Asia Province and Central Africa Province (7 November), East Asia Province (8 November), West Africa Province – Mali and Burkina Faso and Levant Province - al-Barakah (9 November), Levant Province – Halab (12 November), Iraq Province – Baghdad (14 November), Libya Province (15 November), Iraq Province – Dijlah (16 November), Iraq Province – Diyala (17 November), Iraq Province – Salah al-Din (18 November), Iraq Province – Kirkuk (19 November), East Asia Province – Indonesia (22 November), Azerbaijani affiliates (29 November), and in 2020 from the Islamic State's Malian affiliates (31 January), a new jihadist group called Katibah al-Mahdi fi Bilad al-Arakan in Myanmar (November 2020). These pledges of allegiance appeared to be intended to illustrate the legitimacy and unanimous acceptance of al-Qurashi, to counter criticism that he was unknown and illegitimate. The United Nations Security Council consequently judged in January 2020 that the Islamic State had undergone a resurgence in Iraq and Syria. Though these successes were partially attributed to al-Qurashi's leadership, he still remained a shadowy figure. The UN Security Council suggested that the Islamic State feared that al-Qurashi lacked some credentials that were usually necessary for a caliph, and kept him out of the spotlight so as to not endanger his position. The United States also organized an extensive manhunt for him. He eventually relocated to a safehouse in Atme in northwest Syria near its border with Turkey. There, he lived mostly secluded with his wife and two children, as well as two other families. One of these belonged to a top lieutenant on whom he relied—alongside a network of couriers—to command IS forces across the world. The third family had no apparent connection to IS. According to reports from neighbours, a loudspeaker in Arabic called for neighbouring civilians to evacuate the area, followed by U.S. forces and an Arabic interpreter on the ground making the same announcements. Biden said that the civilian casualties were caused by the explosion of al-Qurashi's bomb. A fighter of Tahrir al-Sham was also killed in a brief shootout with U.S. forces after he noticed the raid taking place. There were no reported U.S. casualties, A parallel was made with 2019's raid on Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's compound, the previous IS leader, which was located south of Atime, away from Turkey, in the same area within Turkey's sphere of influence. Field surveillance in the area was handled by Tahrir al-Sham, a rigorous jihadist group and observable ally to Turkey. The Long War Journal argued that al-Qurashi's death was unlikely to weaken the Islamic State in the long term, as his "tenure as caliph proved the Islamic State's capability to expand its influence no matter who ranks highest". The Global Network on Extremism and Technology identified 8 forms of response to al-Qurashi's death among IS supporters: • Denial over al-Qurashi's death • Warnings to fellow supporters about believing non-IS news sources • Information sharing and seeking about the US special forces raid such as images of the compound and maps of the surrounding area • Sharing and refuting a picture claimed to be al-Qurashi in death • Hostile remarks towards the kuffar • Warnings about the circulation of fake Al Furqan media foundation announcements • Hypothetical acceptance of the news • Thoughts and quotes on martyrdom In May 2022, IS's West Africa Province said that it had killed 20 Nigerian Christian men in Borno State in a mass execution as a retaliation for al-Qurashi's assassination. In 2023, one year after his death, a brief biography of Abu Ibrahim Al-Hashimi emerged online in prominent Islamic State supporter circles. On 14 February, The Global Network on Extremism and Technology speculated that the group was "biding its time to carefully craft a response that will maintain some semblance of authority". On 9 February, Egyptian newspaper Al-Watan identified the following individuals as likely candidates: • Mu'tazz Nu'man Abdul-Nayef al-Jabbouri • Ziad Jawhar Abdullah • Bashar Khattab Ghazal al-Samidi • Abu Hamzah al-Qurashi al-Muhajir • Nayif Hamad Shayya' On 2 March, The Al-Azhar Observatory for Combating Terrorism provided a different list of likely candidates: • Abu Safa al-Rifai • Abu Loqman • Abu Mohammed al-Shimali On 10 March 2022, IS confirmed the death of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi and declared that Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi had assumed the position of caliph. == Notes ==