<p>The Islamic State jihadist group confirmed the death of its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a statement Thursday and named his replacement as Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi.</p>.<p>"We mourn you... commander of the faithful," said Abu Hamza al-Quraishi -- presented as the jihadist group's new spokesman -- in an audio statement.</p>.<p>Baghdadi, who led IS since 2014 and was the world's most wanted man, was killed in a US special forces raid in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib on Sunday.</p>.<p>The group also confirmed the killing in another raid the following day of the group's previous spokesman Abu Hassan al-Muhajir.</p>.<p>The statement said the jihadist group's legislative and consultative body convened after the 48-year-old Iraqi-born jihadist chief's death.</p>.<p>"The Islamic State Shura council convened immediately after confirming the martyrdom of Sheikh Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and the elders of the holy warriors agreed" on a replacement, said the seven-minute message.</p>.<p>Little is known about Hashimi, whose name was seldom mentioned as a possible successor the multiple times that Baghdadi was reported killed in recent years.</p>.<p>"We don't know much about him except that he is the leading judge of IS and he heads the Sharia (Islamic law) committee," said Hisham al-Hashemi, an Iraqi expert on IS.</p>.<p>The IS spokesman also issued a stark warning to the United States, whose President Donald Trump announced Baghdadi's death in a televised address from the White House.</p>.<p>"He died after running into a dead-end tunnel, whimpering and crying and screaming all the way," Trump said on Sunday, adding that Baghdadi "died like a dog".</p>.<p>In the new audio message, the new IS spokesman described Trump as "a crazy old man" and warned the US that the group's supporters would avenge Baghdadi's death.</p>.<p>"Do not rejoice America," he warned, "the new chosen one will make you forget the horror you have beholden... and make the achievements of the Baghdadi days taste sweet".</p>.<p>The spokesman also referred to an earlier call by Baghdadi for the thousands of IS fighters held in Syrian and Iraqi prisons to be freed.</p>.<p>Syrian Kurdish forces run prisons in northeastern Syria where they say around 12,000 IS suspects are held.</p>.<p>Most of those prisoners are Iraqi and Syrian but the detainees also include more than 2,000 foreigners who hail from more than 50 different countries.</p>.<p>With aerial and logistical assistance from an international coalition led by the US, Iraqi and Syrian forces have wrested back all the territory lost to IS in 2014.</p>.<p>Fighters from the newly-formed IS group that year swept through much of the Sunni heartland in Iraq and Syria to declare a "caliphate" that further expanded to reach roughly the size of Great Britain.</p>.<p>Years of battles led to the elimination in 2019 of IS' self-declared territorial "caliphate", ending an unprecedented experiment in jihadist statehood which saw a well-organised administration mint its own currency, produce school textbooks and levy taxes.</p>.<p>But while that entity collapsed in March in the remote eastern Syrian village of Baghouz, the organisation went underground and reverted to well-honed guerrilla tactics that continue to do damage.</p>.<p>A recent Turkish invasion targeting the Kurdish forces that had fought against IS in Baghouz has wrought havoc in northeastern Syria, whose geopolitical map is being redrawn.</p>.<p>Observers have warned that the power vacuum and confusion may create an opportunity for IS to rebuild and make fresh territorial gains.</p>.<p>IS has a very horizontal structure, analysts say, and the impact of a decapitation strike may be more symbolic than operational, leaving the group's global jihadist brand and efficiency as an insurgency largely intact.</p>
<p>The Islamic State jihadist group confirmed the death of its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a statement Thursday and named his replacement as Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi.</p>.<p>"We mourn you... commander of the faithful," said Abu Hamza al-Quraishi -- presented as the jihadist group's new spokesman -- in an audio statement.</p>.<p>Baghdadi, who led IS since 2014 and was the world's most wanted man, was killed in a US special forces raid in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib on Sunday.</p>.<p>The group also confirmed the killing in another raid the following day of the group's previous spokesman Abu Hassan al-Muhajir.</p>.<p>The statement said the jihadist group's legislative and consultative body convened after the 48-year-old Iraqi-born jihadist chief's death.</p>.<p>"The Islamic State Shura council convened immediately after confirming the martyrdom of Sheikh Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and the elders of the holy warriors agreed" on a replacement, said the seven-minute message.</p>.<p>Little is known about Hashimi, whose name was seldom mentioned as a possible successor the multiple times that Baghdadi was reported killed in recent years.</p>.<p>"We don't know much about him except that he is the leading judge of IS and he heads the Sharia (Islamic law) committee," said Hisham al-Hashemi, an Iraqi expert on IS.</p>.<p>The IS spokesman also issued a stark warning to the United States, whose President Donald Trump announced Baghdadi's death in a televised address from the White House.</p>.<p>"He died after running into a dead-end tunnel, whimpering and crying and screaming all the way," Trump said on Sunday, adding that Baghdadi "died like a dog".</p>.<p>In the new audio message, the new IS spokesman described Trump as "a crazy old man" and warned the US that the group's supporters would avenge Baghdadi's death.</p>.<p>"Do not rejoice America," he warned, "the new chosen one will make you forget the horror you have beholden... and make the achievements of the Baghdadi days taste sweet".</p>.<p>The spokesman also referred to an earlier call by Baghdadi for the thousands of IS fighters held in Syrian and Iraqi prisons to be freed.</p>.<p>Syrian Kurdish forces run prisons in northeastern Syria where they say around 12,000 IS suspects are held.</p>.<p>Most of those prisoners are Iraqi and Syrian but the detainees also include more than 2,000 foreigners who hail from more than 50 different countries.</p>.<p>With aerial and logistical assistance from an international coalition led by the US, Iraqi and Syrian forces have wrested back all the territory lost to IS in 2014.</p>.<p>Fighters from the newly-formed IS group that year swept through much of the Sunni heartland in Iraq and Syria to declare a "caliphate" that further expanded to reach roughly the size of Great Britain.</p>.<p>Years of battles led to the elimination in 2019 of IS' self-declared territorial "caliphate", ending an unprecedented experiment in jihadist statehood which saw a well-organised administration mint its own currency, produce school textbooks and levy taxes.</p>.<p>But while that entity collapsed in March in the remote eastern Syrian village of Baghouz, the organisation went underground and reverted to well-honed guerrilla tactics that continue to do damage.</p>.<p>A recent Turkish invasion targeting the Kurdish forces that had fought against IS in Baghouz has wrought havoc in northeastern Syria, whose geopolitical map is being redrawn.</p>.<p>Observers have warned that the power vacuum and confusion may create an opportunity for IS to rebuild and make fresh territorial gains.</p>.<p>IS has a very horizontal structure, analysts say, and the impact of a decapitation strike may be more symbolic than operational, leaving the group's global jihadist brand and efficiency as an insurgency largely intact.</p>