The Islamic State group promises to “avenge” the death of its former leader – 20 Minutes

The jihadist organization Islamic State (IS) promised Sunday to “avenge” its previous leader, who died in February, and called on its supporters to take advantage of the war in Ukraine to resume their attacks in Europe. On February 3, US President Joe Biden had announced the death of former ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hachimi al-Qurachi, who blew himself up during a US special forces operation in northwestern Syria. under the control of jihadists. His death, as well as that of the group’s former spokesperson, was confirmed by IS on March 10. IS also calls for renewed attacks in Europe “We announce, relying on God, a blessed campaign revenge” for the death of the leader of IS, Abu Omar al-Muhajir, the group’s spokesman, said in an audio statement broadcast Sunday on Telegram attributed to them. IS also called on its supporters to resume their attacks in Europe by seizing the “opportunity” of the “combat between crusaders”, in allusion to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Abu Hassan al-Hachimi al-Qurachi, new leader of the radical Sunni organization , the third of the group since its creation, has so far made little headlines. After a meteoric rise in 2014 in Iraq and neighboring Syria and the conquest of vast territories, IS saw its self-proclaimed “caliphate” overthrown in successive offensives in these two countries, in 2017 and 2019 respectively.10 .000 fighters still active between Iraq and Syria? But the Islamic State “maintains a largely clandestine presence in Iraq and Syria and leads a sustained insurgency on both sides of the border between the two countries”, according to a report of the UN published last year. In these two countries, the jihadist organization would retain “in all 10,000 active fighters”, according to the same source. IS has also claimed responsibility for attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and affiliated jihadist groups also operate in Africa.