Islamic State Names New Leader After Confirming Death Of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

The Islamic State announced its new leader Thursday after confirming the death of former Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The Islamic State said that al-Baghdadi will be replaced by Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Qurayshi, the Site Intelligence Group reported Thursday. Site Intelligence Group monitors extremist militant groups on the internet, including the Islamic State.

The intelligence group reported that the Islamic State identified al-Qurayshi as the “emir of the believers” and “caliph.” al-Qurayshi is largely unknown outside the ranks of the Islamic State, The New York Times reported.

News of al-Qurayshi’s appointment follows President Donald Trump’s Sunday announcement that al-Baghdadi died in a U.S. raid in Northern Syria.

“He died after running into a dead-end tunnel, whimpering and crying and screaming all the way,” Trump said in a Sunday morning speech.

Al-Baghdadi’s death came after almost a decade as one of the world’s most wanted terrorists. The terrorist became the leader of ISIS in 2013 and participated in Arizonian Kayla Mueller’s brutal rape and murder in 2015.