Baghdad: the next leader of Islamic State Possibly from a close circle of war-hardened Iraqi jihadists who emerged after it. 2003 US Invasiontwo Iraqi security officials and three independent analysts said.
Iraqi officials said the group of potential successors to Abu Ibrahim al-Quraishi, who blew himself up last week during a US operation to capture him in Syria, includes a commander killed by Washington and Baghdad last year. was announced to leave.
45-year-old Qureshi’s death was another blow Isis Two years after losing the longtime leader of a violent Sunni Muslim group Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi In a similar raid in 2019 as well.
Qureshi, an Iraqi, never addressed his fighters or followers publicly, avoiding electronic communications and overseeing a move to fight in small developed units in response to intense pressure from Iraqi and US-led forces. .
But Islamic State followers expect it to name a successor in the coming weeks, as the group, which imposed brutal rule over vast areas of Iraq and Syria from 2014 to 2017, continues to be a stubborn and deadly force in the Middle East. The rebellion continues.
Fadil Abu Raghif, an Iraqi expert who advises its security services, said there were at least four possible successors.
“These include … Abu Khadija, whose last known role was that of Iraq’s leader for Islamic State, Abu Muslim, its leader for Anbar Province, and another named Abu Salih, of whom little is known but Baghdadi And who were close to Qureshi,” he said.
“There is also Abu Yasser al-Isawi, who is suspected to be still alive. He is valuable to the group as he has long military experience.”
Isavi’s death in an airstrike in January 2021 was reported by both at the time Iraqi army As well as the US-led military coalition fighting Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
But an Iraqi security official confirmed that there are strong doubts that Isawi is still alive. “He will be a candidate if he is not dead, he tried to plan military strikes and has thousands of supporters,” the official said.
safety sweep
The official said Islamic State was conducting a security sweep for possible leaks that killed Qureshi before choosing or announcing a successor.
Hassan Hassan, editor of New Lines magazine, which has published research on Qureshi, said the new leader would be a seasoned Iraqi jihadist.
“If they pick one in the coming weeks, they will have to pick someone from the same circle… the group that was part of the Ambari group, which operated under (name) ISIS since its early days,” he said. ”
Islamic State emerged from militants who waged an increasingly Sunni Islamist, sectarian-driven insurgency against US troops and Iraqi forces after 2003.
The Islamic State of Iraq, also known as al Qaeda in Iraq, was an offshoot of Osama bin Laden’s global al Qaeda organization and the forerunner of ISIS, which took shape in the chaos of the Syrian civil war across the border.
Baghdadi and Qureshi, both al-Qaeda members in Iraq, spent time in US detention from the early to mid-2000s. In contrast, none of Qureshi’s four potential successors were captured by the US military, a security official and an army colonel told Reuters.
Officials and analysts in various countries agree that Islamic State is under more pressure than ever and will never restore its own caliphate. But they are divided on how much Qureshi’s death is a blow to the group.
Some say the fight against ISIS will affect the United States and its allies for years to come as it develops into an enduring rebellion with new leaders ready to take the reins.
One of the Iraqi security officials said, “In Syria, Islamic State units operate as an evolving network of disparate groups to avoid being targeted by them. So we do not believe that much of Qureshi’s death has been caused.” Will have a big impact.”
“Following them has become even more difficult because they have long stopped using mobile phones for communication.”
Some officials say that since their territorial defeats in Iraq in 2017 and Syria in 2019, Islamic State leaders have found it easier to move between the two countries, helped by differences in areas of control between the different armed forces. Is.
Security and military officials said the 600-km (372-mile) long border with Syria made it very difficult for Iraqi forces to stop terrorists from infiltrating through underground tunnels.
new leadership style
Lahoor Talabani, a former counter-terrorism chief for Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, said some IS leaders may travel along a route across Iraq’s expanse.
“When you see that attacks are increasing in a particular area I wouldn’t be surprised if someone important passed through that area,” he told Reuters. “The caliphate was defeated but ISIS was never eradicated. I can’t believe we managed to finish the job.”
Islamic State’s occupation in Iraq and Syria set it apart from other like-minded groups such as al Qaeda and became the focus of its mission when it was declared a caliphate claiming sovereignty over all Muslim lands and peoples in 2014.
Fiercely anti-Western, the group also moves forward Sunni-Shia tensionSaying that Shias were infidels who deserved to be killed.
Abu Raghif said the new leader may have stronger military credentials than Qureshi, who Iraqi officials say was seen by followers as more of an Islamic legal mind than a military man.
“Attack and operations will change in character depending on the style of the new leader. The new may believe in large and intense attacks, bombs or suicide bombers,” he said.
Analysts say that despite Qureshi’s low profile and operational secrecy, his assassination is likely to impress the group’s fighters.
Hassan said the removal of Qureshi would lower morale. “ISIS is also locked in personalities and who is most trusted,” he said.
Aaron Zelin, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute, said a figurehead is very important to ISIS.
“Whenever a group leader is killed, your oath is to the (next) leader, the individual himself, not the group.”
Iraqi officials said the group of potential successors to Abu Ibrahim al-Quraishi, who blew himself up last week during a US operation to capture him in Syria, includes a commander killed by Washington and Baghdad last year. was announced to leave.
45-year-old Qureshi’s death was another blow Isis Two years after losing the longtime leader of a violent Sunni Muslim group Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi In a similar raid in 2019 as well.
Qureshi, an Iraqi, never addressed his fighters or followers publicly, avoiding electronic communications and overseeing a move to fight in small developed units in response to intense pressure from Iraqi and US-led forces. .
But Islamic State followers expect it to name a successor in the coming weeks, as the group, which imposed brutal rule over vast areas of Iraq and Syria from 2014 to 2017, continues to be a stubborn and deadly force in the Middle East. The rebellion continues.
Fadil Abu Raghif, an Iraqi expert who advises its security services, said there were at least four possible successors.
“These include … Abu Khadija, whose last known role was that of Iraq’s leader for Islamic State, Abu Muslim, its leader for Anbar Province, and another named Abu Salih, of whom little is known but Baghdadi And who were close to Qureshi,” he said.
“There is also Abu Yasser al-Isawi, who is suspected to be still alive. He is valuable to the group as he has long military experience.”
Isavi’s death in an airstrike in January 2021 was reported by both at the time Iraqi army As well as the US-led military coalition fighting Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
But an Iraqi security official confirmed that there are strong doubts that Isawi is still alive. “He will be a candidate if he is not dead, he tried to plan military strikes and has thousands of supporters,” the official said.
safety sweep
The official said Islamic State was conducting a security sweep for possible leaks that killed Qureshi before choosing or announcing a successor.
Hassan Hassan, editor of New Lines magazine, which has published research on Qureshi, said the new leader would be a seasoned Iraqi jihadist.
“If they pick one in the coming weeks, they will have to pick someone from the same circle… the group that was part of the Ambari group, which operated under (name) ISIS since its early days,” he said. ”
Islamic State emerged from militants who waged an increasingly Sunni Islamist, sectarian-driven insurgency against US troops and Iraqi forces after 2003.
The Islamic State of Iraq, also known as al Qaeda in Iraq, was an offshoot of Osama bin Laden’s global al Qaeda organization and the forerunner of ISIS, which took shape in the chaos of the Syrian civil war across the border.
Baghdadi and Qureshi, both al-Qaeda members in Iraq, spent time in US detention from the early to mid-2000s. In contrast, none of Qureshi’s four potential successors were captured by the US military, a security official and an army colonel told Reuters.
Officials and analysts in various countries agree that Islamic State is under more pressure than ever and will never restore its own caliphate. But they are divided on how much Qureshi’s death is a blow to the group.
Some say the fight against ISIS will affect the United States and its allies for years to come as it develops into an enduring rebellion with new leaders ready to take the reins.
One of the Iraqi security officials said, “In Syria, Islamic State units operate as an evolving network of disparate groups to avoid being targeted by them. So we do not believe that much of Qureshi’s death has been caused.” Will have a big impact.”
“Following them has become even more difficult because they have long stopped using mobile phones for communication.”
Some officials say that since their territorial defeats in Iraq in 2017 and Syria in 2019, Islamic State leaders have found it easier to move between the two countries, helped by differences in areas of control between the different armed forces. Is.
Security and military officials said the 600-km (372-mile) long border with Syria made it very difficult for Iraqi forces to stop terrorists from infiltrating through underground tunnels.
new leadership style
Lahoor Talabani, a former counter-terrorism chief for Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, said some IS leaders may travel along a route across Iraq’s expanse.
“When you see that attacks are increasing in a particular area I wouldn’t be surprised if someone important passed through that area,” he told Reuters. “The caliphate was defeated but ISIS was never eradicated. I can’t believe we managed to finish the job.”
Islamic State’s occupation in Iraq and Syria set it apart from other like-minded groups such as al Qaeda and became the focus of its mission when it was declared a caliphate claiming sovereignty over all Muslim lands and peoples in 2014.
Fiercely anti-Western, the group also moves forward Sunni-Shia tensionSaying that Shias were infidels who deserved to be killed.
Abu Raghif said the new leader may have stronger military credentials than Qureshi, who Iraqi officials say was seen by followers as more of an Islamic legal mind than a military man.
“Attack and operations will change in character depending on the style of the new leader. The new may believe in large and intense attacks, bombs or suicide bombers,” he said.
Analysts say that despite Qureshi’s low profile and operational secrecy, his assassination is likely to impress the group’s fighters.
Hassan said the removal of Qureshi would lower morale. “ISIS is also locked in personalities and who is most trusted,” he said.
Aaron Zelin, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute, said a figurehead is very important to ISIS.
“Whenever a group leader is killed, your oath is to the (next) leader, the individual himself, not the group.”
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