IS wants to avenge leader’s death and calls for attacks in Europe

The terrorist group Islamic State (IS) announced on Sunday that it wants to avenge the death of its leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi, who was killed in February. ISIS also calls on its supporters to take advantage of the war in Ukraine – cited by the IS spokesperson as “crusader war” – by carrying out new attacks in Europe. That writes the spokesman for IS on the Telegram message service.

On February 3, US President Joe Biden announced the death of the former IS leader, dubbed the “Caliph.” The man blew himself up during a US military operation in northwestern Syria, a region under jihadist control. His death was confirmed by IS on March 10. Little is known about the new caliph, Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Quraishi.

IS is still present in Iraq and Syria. According to a UN report published last year, the jihadist organization would have “a total of 10,000 active fighters” in both countries. IS is also active elsewhere in the world, with branches in many countries in Asia and Africa.