Current Affairs

Issue

ISIS chief Abu Ibrahim al-Quraishi, blew himself up during a US special forces operations in Syria.

 

Background

Quraishi led Islamic State from the shadows for a little over two years. He was a religious scholar and former soldier in Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s army.

 

Details

• Quraishi was an important leader in Islamic State’s precursor, the Islamic State of Iraq. It was formed after US toppled Saddam Hussein.

• He was named the leader of the group after former chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi blew himself up during a US operation in 2019 in Syria.

 

Growth

• Quraishi was born in 1976 in Muhallabiya, west of Mosul. He completed Islamic studies at university in Mosul.

• He gained experience in security and military doctrine after becoming a member of jihadist groups.

• He was the main force behind 2014 genocide of minority Yazidis in northern Iraq. He tried to expand Islamic State branches from Africa to Afghanistan.

 

Participation in radicalism

• He first joined insurgency after US invasion of Iraq in 2003-2004. He climbed up the ladder to become an important member of the organisation.

• He was once detained by US army in Camp Bucca, where al-Qaeda and Islamic State of Iraq were being held.

• After disbanding of Iraqi army, Quraishi and other military commanders crossed over to Syria to join ISIS.

• His title was indicative that he traced his lineage to Prophet Mohammad, which gave him religious clout among fellow jihadists.