List of leaders

Emirs of the Islamic State of Iraq No.PortraitNameTime of LeadershipNote(s)AnnouncedLeft officeTime in office1Abu Omar al-Baghdadi15 October 200618 April 2010Al-Baghdadi was killed when a joint operation of US and Iraqi forces rocketed a safe house 10 kilometers (6 mi) southwest of Tikrit.2 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi18 April 20107 April 2013The position was succeeded by a caliph after ISIL announced the establishment of a worldwide caliphate.

Caliphs of the Islamic State

No.PortraitNameTime of LeadershipNote(s)AnnouncedLeft officeTime in office1 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi7 April 201327 October 2019On 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. He was cornered in a tunnel and died by self-detonating a suicide vest, killing alongside two other young children.2Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi31 October 20193 February 2022On 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.3Abu al-Hasan al-Qurashi4 February 202215 October 2022Little 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. 4Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi30 November 202229 April 2023Abu 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. The Islamic State announced on August 3, 2023 that Abu al-Hussein was killed by Tahrir al-Sham militants in Idlib province.5Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi3 August 2023IncumbentAbu Hafs was announced as the new leader of Islamic State, in the same audio that confirmed Abu al-Hussein's death.

List of Spokesmen of the Islamic State Abu Mohammad al-Adnani (2014–2016) Abul-Hasan al-Muhajir (2016–2019) Abu Hamza al-Qurashi (2019-2021) Abu Omar al-Muhajir (2021–2023) Abu Hudhayfah al-Ansari (2023–2026)

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.

Islamic State – Caucasus Province

Rustam Asildarov (23 June 2015 – 3 December 2016) Aslan Byutukayev (2016–2021)

Islamic State – Sahel Province

Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi (13 May 2015 – 2019) Abu al-Bara' al-Sahrawi (2019 (Possible) – present)

Islamic State – Khorasan Province Hafiz Saeed Khan (2015 – July 2016) Abdul Haseeb Logari (2016 – April 2017) Abdul Rahman Ghaleb (April – July 2017) Abu Saad Erhabi (July 2017 – August 2018) Ziya ul-HaqMujtaba Haris and Ali M Latifi. Taliban takes on ISKP, its most serious foe in Afghanistan . Al Jazeera. 27 September 2021. (August 2018 – April 2019) Abdullah Orokzai (April 2019 – April 2020) Shahab al-Muhajir (April 2020 – present)

Islamic State in Libya

Abu Nabil al-Anbari (13 November 2014 – 13 November 2015) Abdul Qader al-Najdi (March 2016 – September 2020)

Islamic State in Somalia

Abdul Qadir Mumin (22 October 2015 – ?) Abdirahman Fahiye Isse Mohamud (? – present)

Islamic State – West Africa Province

Abubakar Shekau (2015–2016) – deposed for being too radical Abu Musab al-Barnawi (2016 – 2019) – deposed and demoted without explanation Abu Abdullahi Umar Al Barnawi "Ba Idrisa" (2019 – 2020) – purged and reportedly killed after some of his followers opposed his deposition Lawan Abubakar "Ba Lawan" / "Abba Gana" (2020 – 2021)

Claimed leaders by media and officials

Lawan Abubakar (July – August 2021) "Abu Dawud" / "Aba Ibrahim" (from August 2021) Malam Bako or Abu Musab al-Barnawi ( October 2021) Sani Shuwaram (November 2021–February 2022)

Islamic State – Yemen Province

Abu Bilal al-Harbi (c. 2014 – March 2017 (or earlier)) Abu Osama al-Muhajir (March 2017 – 25 June 2019)

References