ISIS terrorist group leader confirmed dead

ISIS militant leader Abu al-Hassan al-Hashemi al-Quraishi was killed in an operation carried out by the rebel Free Syrian Army in mid-October in Syria’s Daraa province, the US military said on Wednesday, another heavy blow to a group that once struck fear across the Middle East.

No US military troops were involved in the operation, a US military spokesperson said.

Earlier on Wednesday a spokesperson for the terrorist group, in an audio message posted on an affiliated Telegram channel, had said that leader Abu al-Hassan al-Hashemi al-Quraishi was killed in fighting.

ISIS has selected Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Quraishi as its new leader, the spokesman added. He said Abu al-Hassan al-Hashemi al-Quraishi was killed while “fighting enemies of God”, without elaborating.

No details about the new ISIS leader were given in the audio.