ISIS Confirms Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s Killing, Appoints Abi Ibrahim al-Quraishi as Its New Chief

An ISIS spokesperson also confirmed the death of Abu al-Hassan al-Muhajir, widely assumed as the person described by Trump as Baghdadi's 'number one replacement.'

Updated: October 31, 2019 10:46 PM IST

By India.com News Desk | Edited by Karan Manral

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

New Delhi: The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on Thursday confirmed the death of its founder and chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, four days after US President Donald Trump announced his killing in a raid by the US Special Forces in north-west Syria.

In an audio message, Abu Hamza al-Quraishi, the group’s new spokesperson,  said, “We mourn you, commander of the faithful.” The spokesperson also confirmed the death of Abu al-Hassan al-Muhajir, widely assumed as the person described by Trump as Baghdadi’s ‘number one replacement.’

In a tweet on Tuesday, Trump had tweeted: “Just confirmed that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s number one replacement has been terminated by American troops. Most likely would have taken the top spot-Now he is also dead!”

The spokesperson further also announced that Abi Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi would be the terrorist outfit’s new chief.

Baghdadi, who was given a burial at sea by the US military, detonated his suicide vest in a cave after being cornered over there by the US troops, killing three of his children along with him. While no human operator of the US Special Forces suffered any injury or casualty, a dog, who was part of the commando team and was the one who chased down Baghdadi to the cave, was injured.

In his address to the nation, Trump had described the slain ISIS chief as ‘whimpering, crying and screaming’ when chased down by the forces. He had approved the operation against him only recently, many reports have stated.

The Pentagon had also released a short video of the raid to dispel any doubts that might arise over Baghdadi’s killing.

Also Read:

For breaking news and live news updates, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Read more on Latest World News on India.com.

By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts Cookies Policy.