Isis arrested probable heir to Al-Baghdadi leadership

Iraqi intelligence announced yesterday the capture of Abdulnasser al-Qirdash, defined as the probable heir of the 'caliph' of the Islamic State Abu Bakr al Baghdadi killed on 26 October by American forces during a raid on the Syrian city of Idlib . "The arrest came after careful intelligence," says a statement from the Iraqi national intelligence service, reported by al Arabiya. The operation that led to the capture of al-Qirdash, the Pan-Arab TV station also notes on its site, comes a month after Mustafa al-Kadhimi, the former head of Iraqi intelligence, became the country's prime minister. However, on 31 October last, the Isis Shura Council, in confirming the death of al Baghdadi had also immediately announced the name of his successor, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. "The Shura Council met immediately after confirmation of the martyrdom of al Baghdadi and the elders of the holy warriors agreed" with the new appointment, a spokesman then said then, in an audio of about 8 minutes al Furqan, the official information body of the terrorist organization. The new caliph, he said, is Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi (whose name is transliterated in many different ways, not counting aliases), asking for the loyalty of the jihadists on his behalf. Al Qurashi himself was talked about again in early May, when rumors about his capture began to circulate. The man is originally from the north-western Iraqi city of Tell Afar, according to Iraqi intelligence sources cited by the Pan-Arab media, and before the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq in 2003 he served in Saddam Hussein's army. But even from his announced appointment, he has actually remained behind the scenes. And today the mystery deepens: the announcement of the Iraqi services speaks, apparently, of another person, who however would not have yet taken control of the organization.