CAIRO, February 3. /TASS/. An Iraqi native named al-Isawi will become the new leader of the Islamic State terror group (IS, outlawed in Russia) following former IS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi’s death in a US military operation, the Al Arabiya TV channel reported on Thursday.

According to the media outlet, al-Isawi used to be al-Qurayshi’s deputy. No more details about him have been provided so far. A thing to note is that in January 2021, the US-led coalition announced the elimination of Abu Yasir al-Isawi, the head of the Islamic State’s Iraqi branch.

Earlier on Thursday, the White House released a written statement by US President Joe Biden, in which he said that US military forces had carried out a counterterrorism operation in northwestern Syria, taking IS leader al-Qurayshi "off the battlefield." According to the Associated Press’ sources, at least 13 people, including six children and four women, were killed during the operation.