List of leaders of the Islamic State

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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[edit]

Emirs of the Islamic State of Iraq[edit]

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[edit]

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 264 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[edit]

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

Boko Haram as part of ISIL[edit]

  1. Abubakar Shekau (2015–2016)

Islamic State – Caucasus Province[edit]

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

Islamic State in the Greater Sahara[edit]

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

Islamic State – Khorasan Province[edit]

  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[edit]

  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[edit]

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

Islamic State – West Africa Province[edit]

  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[edit]

  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[edit]

  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[edit]

  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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