Iraqi intelligence captures suspected ISIS leader – unconfirmed reports
Reports on Wednesday evening local time spoke of the arrest of an individual, identified as Abd Nasser Qardash or Abdel Nasser Qirdash.
BREAKING: #Iraq Intel announces Arrest of Possible Heir to ISIS' Baghdadi , Abd Nasser Qardash (Arabiya) https://t.co/h9NjLNlmtL
— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) May 20, 2020
BREAKING: @SkyNewsArabia_B reports that Iraq Intelligence Service announces the arrest of Abdul Nasser Qardash, the candidate to succeed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as ISIS leader.
— 𝕋om 𝕆'ℂonnor (@ShaolinTom) May 20, 2020
Other reports, likewise unconfirmed, identified the captive as Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Qurashi – the name IS gave in October 2019 as the successor to their first leader Abu Bakr al-Bahgdadi, confirming his death in a raid by US special forces.
Also on rt.com ISIS names new leader, confirming al-Baghdadi's death – reportsAl-Baghdadi had been hiding in Syria’s Idlib province, the last holdout of militants backed by Turkey – and previously the US – as “moderate rebels” seeking to overthrow the Syrian government.
IS captured a large portion of Syria and Iraq starting in 2013, declaring a “caliphate” led by al-Baghdadi the following year. All of the territory it claimed was eventually recaptured by Syrian government forces, Iraqi military, or US-backed Kurdish militias by March 2019, leaving the “caliphate” with no land and its leaders on the run.
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