Caliph of the Islamic State
Jihadist flag
Incumbent
Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi
since 3 August 2023
Inaugural holderAbu Bakr al-Baghdadi
Formation7 April 2013

This is a list of leaders of the Islamic State since the establishment of the Islamic State of Iraq.

List of leaders

Emirs of the Islamic State of Iraq

No. Portrait Name

(Birth–Death)

Time of Leadership Note(s)
Announced Left office Time in office
1 Abu Omar al-Baghdadi

حَمِيدُ دَاوُدَ مُحَمَّدُ خَلِيلِ ٱلزَّاوِيِّ

(1959–2010)

15 October 2006 18 April 2010 3 years, 185 days Al-Baghdadi was killed when a joint operation of US and Iraqi forces rocketed a safe house 10 kilometers (6 mi) southwest of Tikrit.[1]
2 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

أَبُو بَكْرٍ ٱلْبَغْدَادِيُّ

(1971–2019)

18 April 2010 7 April 2013 2 years, 354 days The position was succeeded by a caliph after ISIL announced the establishment of a worldwide caliphate.

Caliphs of the Islamic State

No. Portrait Name

(Birth–Death)

Time of Leadership Note(s)
Announced Left office Time in office
1 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

أَبُو بَكْرٍ ٱلْبَغْدَادِيُّ

(1971–2019)

7 April 2013 27 October 2019 6 years, 203 days On 27 October 2019, US Joint Special Operations Command's 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (SFOD-D) along with soldiers from the 75th Ranger Regiment and 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment conducted a raid through air space controlled by Russia and Turkey into the rebel-held Idlib province of Syria on the border with Turkey to capture al-Baghdadi.[2][3] He was cornered in a tunnel and died by self-detonating a suicide vest, killing alongside two other young children.[4][5]
2 Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

أبو الحسن القرشي

(1976–2022)

31 October 2019 3 February 2022 2 years, 95 days On 3 February 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden announced that U.S. military forces successfully undertook a counterterrorism operation in the town of Atme in Idlib, resulting in the death of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi by a suicide vest which also killed 12 others.[6][7]
3 Abu al-Hasan al-Qurashi

أبو الحسن القرشي

(19??-2022)

10 March 2022 15 October 2022 219 days Little is known about al-Qurashi. According to Iraqi security and government officials, al-Qurashi was the elder brother of former leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Research published by Hisham al-Hashimi in 2020 stated that al-Qurashi headed the five-member Shura Council. He killed himself on 15 October 2022 by detonating a suicide vest during an operation carried out by former Free Syrian Army rebels which had aligned with government forces in Daraa province.[8][9][10]
4 Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi

أبو الحسن القرشي

(19??-2023)

30 November 2022 29 April 2023 150 days Abu al-Hussein was announced as the new leader of Islamic State by Abu Omar al-Muhajir, in the same audio that confirmed Abu al-Hasan's death.[10] The Islamic State announced on August 3, 2023 that Abu al-Hussein was killed by Tahrir al-Sham militants in Idlib province.[11]
5 Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

ابو حفص الهاشمي القريشي

(born 19??)

3 August 2023 Incumbent 252 days Abu Hafs was announced as the new leader of Islamic State, in the same audio that confirmed Abu al-Hussein's death.[12]

Leaders of the international branches of the Islamic State

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (July 2022)

List of known leaders of the international branches of the Islamic State part of the worldwide caliphate.

Boko Haram as part of ISIL

  1. Abubakar Shekau (2015–2016)

Islamic State – Caucasus Province

  1. Rustam Asildarov (23 June 2015 – 3 December 2016)[13]

Islamic State in the Greater Sahara

  1. Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi (13 May 2015 – 2019)[14]
  2. Abdoul Hakim al-Sahrawi (2019 (Possible) – present)[14]

Islamic State – Khorasan Province

  1. Hafiz Saeed Khan(2015 – July 2016)
  2. Abdul Haseeb Logari[15][16] (2016 – April 2017)
  3. Abdul Rahman Ghaleb[17][18] (April – July 2017)
  4. Abu Saad Erhabi[19] (July 2017 – August 2018)
  5. Ziya ul-Haq[20] (August 2018 – April 2019)
  6. Abdullah Orokzai[21][22] (April 2019 – April 2020)
  7. Shahab al-Muhajir (April 2020 – present)[23]

Islamic State in Libya

  1. Abu Nabil al-Anbari (13 November 2014 – 13 November 2015)[24]
  2. Abdul Qader al-Najdi (March 2016 – present)[25] (possible death in September 2020)

Islamic State in Somalia

  1. Abdul Qadir Mumin (22 October 2015 – present)

Islamic State – West Africa Province

  1. Abubakar Shekau (2015 – 2016) – deposed for being too radical
  2. Abu Musab al-Barnawi (2016 – 2019) – deposed and demoted without explanation
  3. Abu Abdullahi Umar Al Barnawi "Ba Idrisa" (2019 – 2020) – purged and reportedly killed after some of his followers opposed his deposition[26]
  4. Lawan Abubakar "Ba Lawan" / "Abba Gana" (2020 – 2021)[26][27]

Claimed leaders by media and officials

  1. Lawan Abubakar (July – August 2021)[27][28]
  2. "Abu Dawud" / "Aba Ibrahim" (from August 2021)[28][29]
  3. Malam Bako or Abu Musab al-Barnawi (c. October 2021)[29]
  4. Sani Shuwaram (from November 2021)[29]

Islamic State – Yemen Province

  1. Abu Bilal al-Harbi[30] (c. 2014 – March 2017 (or earlier))
  2. Abu Osama al-Muhajir[31] (POW)[32][33] (March 2017 – 25 June 2019)

References

  1. ^ "Al Qaeda's two top Iraq leaders killed in raid". Reuters. 19 April 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  2. ^ "Al-Baghdadi Killed in Idlib, a Hotbed of Terror Groups, Foreign Fighters". VOA. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  3. ^ O'Reilly, Andrew (27 October 2019). "House Dems angered that Trump told Russia, Turkey of al-Baghdadi raid, but not Pelosi". Fox News. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  4. ^ "Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi: IS leader 'dead after US raid' in Syria". BBC News. 28 October 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  5. ^ "Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi killed in US raid, Trump confirms". the Guardian. 27 October 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  6. ^ "Statement by President Joe Biden". The White House. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  7. ^ Schmitt, Eric; Hubbard, Ben (3 February 2022). "U.S. Evacuated 10 Civilians During Raid, Pentagon Says". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  8. ^ Al-Khalidi, Suleiman (December 2022). "Islamic State names new leader after Quraishi blew himself up when surrounded -sources". Reuters.
  9. ^ "EXCLUSIVE New Islamic State leader is brother of slain caliph Baghdadi - sources". Reuters. 11 March 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  10. ^ a b Hindustan Times (30 November 2022). "Islamic State leader Abu Hasan al-Qurashi killed, names successor". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  11. ^ "ISIL confirms death of leader Abu Hussein al-Qurashi, names successor". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  12. ^ "Islamic State confirms death of its leader, names replacement". Reuters. 3 August 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  13. ^ "Six North Caucasus Insurgency Commanders Transfer Allegiance To Islamic State". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  14. ^ a b "Tracking Abu Walid al-Sahraoui, West Africa's most wanted jihadist". The Africa Report.com. 12 February 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  15. ^ "Army Rangers killed in Afghanistan were possible victims of friendly fire". Army Times. 28 April 2017.
  16. ^ Barbara Starr; Ralph Ellis (8 May 2017). "ISIS leader in Afghanistan was killed in raid, US confirms". CNN. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  17. ^ Browne, Ryan (14 July 2017). "US kills leader of ISIS in Afghanistan". CNN. Archived from the original on 14 July 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  18. ^ "Statement by Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Dana W. White on death of ISIS-K leader in Afghanistan". U.S. Department of Defense. Archived from the original on 14 July 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  19. ^ "ISIL leader in Afghanistan killed in air raids". aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 27 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  20. ^ Mujtaba Haris and Ali M Latifi. Taliban takes on ISKP, its most serious foe in Afghanistan. Al Jazeera. 27 September 2021.
  21. ^ "UN: Islamic State replaced leader in Afghanistan after visit from central leadership | FDD's Long War Journal". longwarjournal.org. 30 July 2019. Archived from the original on 31 July 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  22. ^ "Afghan forces announce arrest of local ISIL leader". Archived from the original on 5 April 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  23. ^ "Who Is the New Leader of Islamic State-Khorasan Province?". Lawfare. 2 September 2020.
  24. ^ Paton, Callum (10 March 2016). "New Isis leader in Libya – Abdel Qader al-Najdi threatens Daesh invasion of Rome through Africa". IB Times. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  25. ^ Lewis, Aidan (10 March 2016). Ireland, Louise (ed.). "New Islamic State leader in Libya says group 'stronger every day'". Reuters. The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  26. ^ a b Bassim Al-Hussaini (3 March 2020). "New ISWAP boss slays five rebel leaders, silences clerical tones". Premium Times. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  27. ^ a b "ISWAP-Boko Haram Reshuffles 'Cabinet', Imposes Levies On Agricultural, Trade Activities In Nigerian Communities". Sahara Reporters. 4 July 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  28. ^ a b Wale Odunsi (18 August 2021). "ISWAP reshuffles Nigerian leaders after ISIS order". Daily Post. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  29. ^ a b c Wale Odunsi (6 November 2021). "ISIS crowns Sani Shuwaram as new ISWAP leader". Daily Post. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  30. ^ Gregory D. Johnsen (7 July 2015). "This Man Is The Leader In ISIS's Recruiting War Against Al-Qaeda In Yemen". Buzzfeed. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  31. ^ "S/2018/705 - E - S/2018/705". undocs.org.
  32. ^ "Saudi Coalition Says Head of Yemen's Islamic State Captured". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  33. ^ "Video Footage: Saudi & Yemeni Special Forces Capture ISIS Leader in Yemen". Republicanyemen.net. 25 June 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
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