Who is Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Qurashi?
Hashemi's name is not known to security forces, and is believed to be a nom de guerre. IS did not provide many details about the new leader or release a photo, but it did claim he was a veteran jihadist fighter who had fought against the West. With the name "al-Qurashi", the group also made clear that he claims to be descended from the Prophet Muhammad's Quraysh tribe - something generally held by pre-modern Sunni scholars as being a key qualification for becoming a caliph. Before the announcement, BBC jihadist media specialist Mina al-Lami said: "If IS chooses to appoint someone who is not a Qurashi, then perhaps it is an implicit acknowledgement that the 'caliphate' is no more."What is the context?
IS declared the creation of a "caliphate" - a state governed in accordance with Sharia, or Islamic law - after seizing control of huge swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014 and imposing its brutal rule on millions of civilians. It proclaimed Baghdadi as "Caliph Ibrahim" and demanded allegiance from Muslims worldwide. Despite the demise of its physical caliphate in March, IS remains a battle-hardened and well-disciplined force whose enduring defeat is not assured. The group still has between 14,000 and 18,000 "members" in Iraq and Syria, including up to 3,000 foreigners, according to a recent US report.What happened to Baghdadi?
The day before IS released the name of its new leader, the US military made public more information about the killing of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi during a raid in Syria's Idlib province early on Sunday. In grainy footage, helicopters were seen firing at gunmen on the ground as they flew towards a compound where Baghdadi was hiding. On landing, US special forces commandos blew holes in the walls of the compound and called on Baghdadi to surrender, the military said. But he fled into a tunnel and detonated a suicide vest, killing himself and two children he had taken with him. "You can deduce what kind of person it is based on that activity," said the head of US Central Command, Gen Kenneth McKenzie. After the raid, the compound was destroyed in an air strike. Gen McKenzie said the destroyed buildings were left looking like "a parking lot with large potholes". He added that he could not confirm President Donald Trump's graphic description of Baghdadi whimpering and crying as he died.DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
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