ISIS Loses Its Leader, But the Group Lives On

The Caravan

On February 3, President Biden announced the death of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, the leader of the Islamic State, in a U.S. special forces raid on his hideout in northern Syria. The leader, better known as Hajji ‘Abdallah, had been the Islamic State’s so-called caliph since October 2019, following the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Who was Hajji ‘Abdallah and how did he end up in a small town on the border with Turkey? How impactful will his loss be to the terrorist organization he headed? How great of a threat does the Islamic State continue to pose to the region? Aymenn al-Tamimi, a British expert on Islamic militant groups in Iraq and Syria, shares his unique perspective on these questions and more in this episode.