Internal Divisions to Stall ISIS Appointing New Leader

An ISIS flag hangs amid electric wires over a street in Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp, near the port-city of Sidon, southern Lebanon January 19, 2016. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho
An ISIS flag hangs amid electric wires over a street in Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp, near the port-city of Sidon, southern Lebanon January 19, 2016. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho
TT
20

Internal Divisions to Stall ISIS Appointing New Leader

An ISIS flag hangs amid electric wires over a street in Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp, near the port-city of Sidon, southern Lebanon January 19, 2016. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho
An ISIS flag hangs amid electric wires over a street in Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp, near the port-city of Sidon, southern Lebanon January 19, 2016. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho

An Egyptian monitor predicted that the ISIS terror group would witness internal divisions after the death of its leader, Abu Ibrahim al Qurashi.

The Cairo-based Al-Azhar Observatory for Combating Terrorism confirmed that ISIS had always been preoccupied with internal divisions after losing its leaders. The group hopes to reorganize and appoint a successor for al-Qurashi.

“This time around, finding a new leader for the organization may prove more difficult than other times,” said the Observatory.

ISIS has lost several leaders in air raids before.

Some of the terror group’s slain leaders include Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, Abu Muslim al-Turkmani, and Hafez Saeed Khan.

While al-Adnani was responsible for ISIS’ foreign operations and media activities, Khan headed the terrorist group’s offshoot in Afghanistan.

Observers emphasized that the killing of leaders may have an impact in the short term; Because after choosing the new leader, ISIS is left busy forming the new organizational structure and obtaining so-called pledges of allegiance from all branches of the “caliphate.”

This was the case when al-Baghdadi was killed in a US raid in 2019.

Last month, US President Joe Biden announced the killing of al-Qurashi in an air raid on northwestern Idlib province in Syria.

According to a report published by the Observatory on Tuesday, ISIS’ failure to acknowledge the killing of al-Qurashi so far, and its reliance on slogans confirms the state of confusion it is experiencing.

Observers, for their part, pointed out that “the killing of al-Qurashi constituted a painful blow to the organization, which has been recently trying to rebuild itself after the defeats of the past months.”

According to the Observatory, many ISIS leaders could replace al-Qurashi. The candidates include Jomaa al-Badri, Abu Safa al-Rifai, Abu Loqman, and Abu Mohammed al-Shimali.



Israel Says it Carried Out Warning Strike on 'Extremists' in Syria Threatening Druze

Syrian security forces secure the area following armed clashes in Jaramana town, near Damascus, Syria, 29 April 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED AL RIFAI
Syrian security forces secure the area following armed clashes in Jaramana town, near Damascus, Syria, 29 April 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED AL RIFAI
TT
20

Israel Says it Carried Out Warning Strike on 'Extremists' in Syria Threatening Druze

Syrian security forces secure the area following armed clashes in Jaramana town, near Damascus, Syria, 29 April 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED AL RIFAI
Syrian security forces secure the area following armed clashes in Jaramana town, near Damascus, Syria, 29 April 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED AL RIFAI

The Israeli military carried out a warning strike against "extremists" preparing to attack members of the Druze minority in the Syrian town of Sahnaya, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday in a joint statement with Defense Minister Israel Katz.

"The IDF (military) carried out a warning action and struck the organization of an extremist group preparing to attack the Druze population in the town of Sahnaya, in the Damascus region of Syria," said the statement.

The Israeli announcement came after an eruption of deadly sectarian violence in predominantly Druze areas near Damascus.

The Israeli statement also said a message "was passed on to the Syrian regime - Israel expects it to act in order to prevent harm to the Druze."

A spokesman for Syria's interior ministry, speaking to Reuters from Sahnaya said he had no indication that an attack had taken place.