American experts on Islamic State activities

Islamic State (IS) militants have killed ten Syrian pro-government militants in the northern city of Raqqa. “IS attacked positions and checkpoints belonging to the regime … setting fire to military equipment and prefabricated houses” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on August 8. The report added that the attack that took place on August 7 in the evening left six Syrian soldiers were injured, and some of them are in critical condition.

Raqqa was taken over by IS in 2014 as its de facto capital and it ruled there as a self-proclaimed “caliphate”. In October 2017, IS was ousted from its Syrian stronghold by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militants backed by the United States.

The IS group controlled a third part of Iraq and Syria at the height of its power in 2014. Although it has been defeated in both countries, its militants continue to carry out deadly attacks. According to SOHR, since the beginning of this year, violent clashes between IS and pro-government forces and militias in the Syrian desert have killed 373 people, including 196 fighters belonging to Syrian government forces and proxy militias, 37 Iranian-backed militias, as well as 157 civilians and 20 IS members that were killed by pro-government forces and Russian airstrikes in hideouts in the deserts of Homs, Suwayda, Hama, Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor and Aleppo.

In April, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi, the “alleged IS leader”, was killed by Turkish forces during an operation in northwestern Syria. Speaking during an interview with state broadcaster TRT Turk, Erdogan added that the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT) had been following al-Qurashi for a long time: “The alleged leader of IS, codenamed Abu Hussein al-Qurashi, was eliminated during an operation by MIT carried out on April 29 in Syria. Syrian local sources and security officials said at the time that the raid took place in the northern Syrian city of Jandaris controlled by Turkish-backed rebel groups and was one of the cities hit the hardest by the February 6 earthquake that hit both Turkey and Syria. Other reports said the raid took place in nearby Jarablus. Both are located in Aleppo governorate. The Syrian National Army, the opposition faction that ensures security in the area, did not comment.

IS elected al-Qurashi as its leader in November 2022 after the previous IS leader was killed in an operation in southern Syria. Abd al-Hadi Mahmoud al-Haji Ali, a senior IS leader, was killed earlier in a US helicopter raid into northern Syria, the Pentagon said in an April 17 statement. Two weeks earlier, US forces had killed Khalid Aidd Ahmad al-Jaburi, another senior IS leader who the US claimed was responsible for planning attacks in Europe and Turkey.

In this regard, we must note that on August 3, the Islamic State published an audio message on al-Furqan Media, officially announcing the death of the previous caliph Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi and the appointment of his successor Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. Interestingly, this appointment took place three months after the death of Abu Hussein, but most importantly, the IS report refutes Ankara's original version.

While Turkish President Erdogan initially claimed on April 30, 2023 that Turkish forces killed Abu al-Hussein, the Islamic State, on the contrary, claims that Abu al-Hussein was killed by the rebel group Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS that has ties to Turkey and is the leading group in northwestern Syria) in the countryside of Idlib. The HTS then handed over Abu al-Hussein's body to Turkey to help Erdogan solidify his credibility as a security figure ahead of Turkey's elections.

In general, according to American experts, the latest information from the Islamic State about what happened to Abu al-Hussein should be considered more reliable than Erdogan's statements, since the organization has previously proved to be credible in comments on the death of its leaders.

The previous IS representative, Abu Omar al-Muhajir, was captured by Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham, hence the appointment of a new representative, Abu Hudayfu al-Ansari.

It has been confirmed that Abu al-Hussein's predecessor, Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, was killed in a combat with Syrian government forces and local militias in Deraa governorate.

Traditional talking points were made about the need for steadfastness, an oath of allegiance to the new Caliph (who is some unidentified veteran of the organization), a promise to release prisoners, and threats against enemies like the United States (and more specifically Ha’yat Tahrir ash-Sham given its role in the assassination of Abu al-Hussein and other actions against the Islamic State).

It is confirmed that Iraq and Syria continue to be “the center of the Islamic State” as the “abode of the Caliphate.”