List of leaders of the Islamic State

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Caliph of the Islamic State
AQMI Flag asymmetric.svg
Jihadist flag
Incumbent
Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi
since 10 March 2022
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[]

Emirs of the Islamic State of Iraq[]

No. Portrait Name

(Birth–Death)

Time of Leadership Note(s)
Announced Left office Time in office
1 BLANK ICON.png 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 Mugshot of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, 2004.jpg 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[]

No. Portrait Name

(Birth–Death)

Time of Leadership Note(s)
Announced Left office Time in office
1 Mugshot of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, 2004.jpg Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

أَبُو بَكْرٍ ٱلْبَغْدَادِيُّ

(1971–2019)

7 April 2013 27 October 2019 6 years, 203 days On 26 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 three other young children.[4][5]
2 Hajji‘Abdallah (cropped).jpg 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]
4 BLANK ICON.png Abu al-Hasan al-Qurashi

أبو الحسن القرشي

(????–)

10 March 2022 Incumbent 227 days Little is known about al-Quraishi. According to Iraqi security and government officials, al-Qurashi's is 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.[8]

Leaders of the international branches of the Islamic State[]

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

Boko Haram as part of ISIL[]

  1. Abubakar Shekau (2015–2016)

Islamic State – Caucasus Province[]

  1. Rustam Asildarov (23 June 2015 – 3 December 2016)[9]

Islamic State in the Greater Sahara[]

  1. Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi (13 May 2015 – 2019)[10]
  2. (2019 (Possible) – present)[10]

Islamic State – Khorasan Province[]

  1. Hafiz Saeed Khan(2015 – July 2016)
  2. Abdul Haseeb Logari[11][12] (2016 – April 2017)
  3. Abdul Rahman Ghaleb[13][14] (April – July 2017)
  4. Abu Saad Erhabi[15] (July 2017 – August 2018)
  5. Ziya ul-Haq[16] (August 2018 – April 2019)
  6. Abdullah Orokzai[17][18] (April 2019 – April 2020)
  7. Shahab al-Muhajir (April 2020 – present)[19]

Islamic State in Libya[]

  1. Abu Nabil al-Anbari (13 November 2014 – 13 November 2015)[20]
  2. Abdul Qader al-Najdi (March 2016 – present)[21] (possible death in September 2020)

Islamic State in Somalia[]

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

Islamic State – West Africa Province[]

  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[22]
  4. Lawan Abubakar "Ba Lawan" / "Abba Gana" (2020 – 2021)[22][23]

Claimed leaders by media and officials[]

  1. Lawan Abubakar (July – August 2021)[23][24]
  2. "Abu Dawud" / "Aba Ibrahim" (from August 2021)[24][25]
  3. Malam Bako or Abu Musab al-Barnawi (c. October 2021)[25]
  4. Sani Shuwaram (from November 2021)[25]

Islamic State – Yemen Province[]

  1. Abu Bilal al-Harbi[26] (c. 2014 – March 2017 (or earlier))
  2. Abu Osama al-Muhajir[27] (POW)[28][29] (March 2017 – 25 June 2019)

References[]

  1. ^ "Al Qaeda's two top Iraq leaders killed in raid". Reuters. 2010-04-19. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
  2. ^ "Al-Baghdadi Killed in Idlib, a Hotbed of Terror Groups, Foreign Fighters". VOA. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  3. ^ O'Reilly, Andrew (2019-10-27). "House Dems angered that Trump told Russia, Turkey of al-Baghdadi raid, but not Pelosi". Fox News. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  4. ^ "Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi: IS leader 'dead after US raid' in Syria". BBC News. 2019-10-28. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  5. ^ "Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi killed in US raid, Trump confirms". the Guardian. 2019-10-27. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  6. ^ "Statement by President Joe Biden". The White House. 2022-02-03. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  7. ^ Schmitt, Eric; Hubbard, Ben (2022-02-03). "U.S. Evacuated 10 Civilians During Raid, Pentagon Says". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  8. ^ Reuters (2022-03-11). "EXCLUSIVE New Islamic State leader is brother of slain caliph Baghdadi - sources". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  9. ^ "Six North Caucasus Insurgency Commanders Transfer Allegiance To Islamic State". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b "Tracking Abu Walid al-Sahraoui, West Africa's most wanted jihadist". The Africa Report.com. 2020-02-12. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
  11. ^ "Army Rangers killed in Afghanistan were possible victims of friendly fire". Army Times. 28 April 2017.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ "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.
  15. ^ "ISIL leader in Afghanistan killed in air raids". aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 27 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  16. ^ Mujtaba Haris and Ali M Latifi. Taliban takes on ISKP, its most serious foe in Afghanistan. Al Jazeera. 27 September 2021.
  17. ^ "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.
  18. ^ "Afghan forces announce arrest of local ISIL leader". Archived from the original on 5 April 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  19. ^ "Who Is the New Leader of Islamic State-Khorasan Province?". Lawfare. 2 September 2020.
  20. ^ 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.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ Jump up to: a b Bassim Al-Hussaini (3 March 2020). "New ISWAP boss slays five rebel leaders, silences clerical tones". Premium Times. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  23. ^ Jump up to: 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.
  24. ^ Jump up to: a b Wale Odunsi (18 August 2021). "ISWAP reshuffles Nigerian leaders after ISIS order". Daily Post. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  25. ^ Jump up to: a b c Wale Odunsi (6 November 2021). "ISIS crowns Sani Shuwaram as new ISWAP leader". Daily Post. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  26. ^ 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.
  27. ^ "S/2018/705 - E - S/2018/705". undocs.org.
  28. ^ "Saudi Coalition Says Head of Yemen's Islamic State Captured". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  29. ^ "Video Footage: Saudi & Yemeni Special Forces Capture ISIS Leader in Yemen". Republicanyemen.net. 25 June 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
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