Isis Founding Member Confirmed by Spies as Group's New Leader

01.21.2020, 11:32
Near East, World

Twitter

The new leader of Islamic State has been confirmed as Amir Mohammed Abdul Rahman al-Mawli al-Salbi, according to officials from two intelligence services, The Guardian reports. He is one of the terror group’s founding members and has led the enslavement of Iraq’s Yazidi minority and has overseen operations around the globe.

The Guardian has learned that Salbi was named leader hours after the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in October. The name that the group gave for Baghdadi’s replacement at the time, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi, was a nom de guerre not recognised by other senior leaders or intelligence agencies.

Salbi is considered to be one of the most influential ideologues among the now depleted ranks of Isis. Born into an Iraqi Turkmen family in the town of Tal Afar, he is one of the few non-Arabs among the leadership.

He is also known by the nom de guerre Haji Abdullah, and in some circles as Abdullah Qardash – although Iraqi officials suggest the latter was a separate Isis figure who died two years ago.

Հայերեն На русском

Other materials on this subject

Turkey Begins Deportation Of Captive Foreign Islamic State Terrorists To Their Home Countries The issue of the handling of Daesh/ISIS members and their families detained in Syria -- including foreign members of the terror group -- has been controversial, with Turkey arguing foreign-born terrorists...
US Knows 'Almost Nothing' about New ISIS Leader The announcement of the new leader came in an audio message released last week by a new ISIS spokesperson, after Abu Hassan al-Muhajir, the spokesperson and right-hand man to Baghdadi, was also killed,...
Erdogan Says Turkey has Captured Baghdadi's Wife A senior Turkish official said earlier this week that Turkey had captured Baghdadi’s sister, her husband and daughter.
Newsweek Reveals Name of Likely Successor to Dead Islamic State Group’s Leader Abdullah Qardash, sometimes spelled Kardesh and also known as Hajji Abdullah al-Afari, was said to have been nominated by Baghdadi in August to run the group's "Muslim affairs" in a widely-circulated statement...
Trump: ISIS is 'Totally under control' Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to a 120-hour ceasefire in northern Syria following a meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence.