IS-Somalia insurgents pledge allegiance to the new amir, Abu al-Husayn al-Qurashi

Fighters of the Islamic State in Somalia have pledged support and allegiance to the new head of the organization following the death of its leader, Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi who had been killed in a battle. 

The militants fighting in multiple countries will now be headed by the less known Abu Al-Hussein Al-Husseini Al-Qurashi, who has been installed as the leader of the organization.

A spokesperson for the group called on jihadist and invited all groups loyal to the Islamic State to swear allegiance to him.

The Islamic State has been defeated, after taking control of large swathes of land in Iraq and Syria in 2014, and witnessing the collapse of the so-called “caliphate” in light of a wave of attacks.

The organization was defeated in Iraq in 2017 and then in Syria two years later, but its elements are still launching attacks in both countries.

And the former leader of the organization, Abu Ibrahim al-Qurashi, was killed last February in a US raid in the governorate of Idlib, in northern Syria.

His predecessor, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was also killed in Idlib in October 2019.

The Islamic State in Somalia or Abnaa ul-Calipha is an Islamic State–affiliated group that primarily operates in the mountainous areas of Puntland, though has also claimed responsibility for several terrorist attacks throughout the rest of Somalia.

The organization has together with affiliate of the network across the continent including those in the Sahel region have all pledged allegiance to ISIS.

Recently the United States has designated an Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS)-Somalia network of weapons traffickers, their associates, and an affiliated business for facilitating weapons transfers to the terrorist group.

The ISIS-Somalia network operates primarily between Yemen and Somalia and has ties to other terrorist groups, including al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula and al-Shabaab.  

Many of the relevant individuals are also involved in other illegal activities, including piracy and environmental crimes, demonstrating their integration with illicit networks operating in the region.

The Department of State designated ISIS-Somalia on February 27, 2018, as well as Abdiqadr Mumin, the leader of ISIS-Somalia, on August 11, 2016, as Specially Designated Global Terrorists pursuant.  

ISIS has increasingly sought to generate revenue in East Africa.  

ISIS-Somalia, which continues to conduct terrorist attacks against civilians, generates much of its funding by extorting local communities for funding and recruits.  

The group punishes, intimidates, and assassinates Somali businessmen and civilians who do not support it financially or provide supplies.