Experts Puzzle Over Identity Of New ISIS Leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Quraishi

Mystery has surrounded the identity of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi, the man ISIS has named as the replacement for its former leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The jihadist group had for the first time on Thursday confirmed the death of al-Baghdadi who killed himself and three sons to avoid being captured by U.S troops during a raid on his hide out in Barisha, Syria.

“We mourn you… commander of the faithful,” ISIS new spokesman Abu Hamza al-Quraishi had said in an audio message confirming al-Baghdadi’s death.

The identity of the terror group’s new leader has however remained a mystery as reports say only a small circle of terrorist organization knows the new leader.

“Nobody – and I mean nobody outside a likely very small circle within ISIS – have any idea who their new leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi is,” Paul Cruickshank of the Combatting Terrorism Center said in a tweet on Thursday.

Al-Quraishi, the new ISIS leader’s name is unknown to terror experts, reports Daily Mail. It is believed that the name may be a pseudonym for a known jihadist.

Abdullah Qardash had been reported as al-Baghdadi’s replacement before the group announced al-Quraishi as its new leader.