ISIS replacement for Al-Baghdadi killed

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the U.S. military had killed the person who likely would have succeeded Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as the leader of Islamic State.

‘Just confirmed that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s number one replacement has been terminated by American troops,’ Trump said on Twitter.

‘Most likely would have taken the top spot,’he wrote.

Just confirmed that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s number one replacement has been terminated by American troops. Most likely would have taken the top spot - Now he is also Dead!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 29, 2019

Trump did not specify who he was referring to. But on Monday, Newsweek reported that Baghdadi’s successor is the former Iraqi army officer named Abdullah Qardash – sometimes spelt Karshesh.

Abdullah Qardash, new ISIS leader

Little is known about Qardash, who once served under Saddam Hussein.

But he is understood to have already taken over a number of duties from al-Baghdadi prior to his demise this week when he detonated a suicide vest, reported Mail Online.

The U.S. on Monday confirmed the killing of Abu al-Hassan al-Muhajir – the Islamic State spokesman and a high-ranking figure within the jihadi group.

Muhajir was killed in a separate operation in northern Syria in a joint raid between Kurdish-led and U.S. forces.

Trump on Sunday announced the killing of Baghdadi by U.S. special operations forces in northwestern Syria. He said Baghdadi detonated a suicide vest, killing himself and his three children and later it was learnt, the bomb also hurt a special military dog that gave him a chase.