Islamic State chief Quraishi blew himself up after he being surrounded -sources By Reuters

By Suleiman Al-Khalidi

AMMAN (Reuters) – Islamic State (IS) militant chief Abu al-Hassan al-Hashemi al-Quraishi, who was killed in mid-October in Syria, blew himself up after he and his aides have been surrounded by native fighters within the city of Jasem, fighters concerned within the conflict informed Reuters.

The U.S. navy mentioned on Wednesday he was killed in an operation carried out by the insurgent Free Syrian Military (FSA) in northwestern Deraa province.

The province was introduced underneath the management of the Syrian military following Russian- brokered reconciliation agreements in 2018 that gave management of southern Syria again to Damascus.

Quraishi and his aides had been found in a secret hideout in a home, mentioned the sources, who included Syrian Free Military fighters, and kin of comrades who died in conflict, in addition to residents of Jasem.

“The chief and a companion blew themselves up with suicide belts after our fighters succeeded in storming their hideout,” mentioned Salem al Horani a resident of Jasem and former fighter who participated within the siege of the three homes the place the IS cell was found.

The FSA had obtained backing from the West and Gulf states till they withdrew help in 2018, however its fighters remained within the space after the reconciliation offers underneath which they handed over heavy weapons however have been allowed to maintain mild arms.

Islamic State has chosen Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Quraishi as its new chief, mentioned a spokesman for the group. He mentioned Quraishi was killed whereas “combating enemies of God”, with out elaborating.

Islamic State emerged from the chaos of the civil warfare in neighbouring Iraq and took over huge swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014. Former IS caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared an Islamic caliphate from a mosque within the northern Iraqi metropolis of Mosul that yr and proclaimed himself caliph of all Muslims.

Islamic State’s brutal rule, throughout which it killed and executed hundreds of individuals within the identify of its slender interpretation of Islam, got here to an finish in Mosul when Iraqi and worldwide forces defeated the group there in 2017.