Islamic State names new caliph, brother of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

The Islamic State has lost its caliphate in Iraq and Syria, but the group is active in Mozambique, Nigeria, Mali and elsewhere. It has “between $25 million and $50 million” not just because of “opportunistic extortion, looting and kidnap for ransom,” but because some wealthy Muslims believe it is a worthy group, and keep it afloat financially.

“EXCLUSIVE New Islamic State leader is brother of slain caliph Baghdadi – sources,” Reuters, March 11, 2022:

BAGHDAD, March 11 (Reuters) – The new leader of Islamic State, whose appointment the group announced on Thursday, is the brother of slain former caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, according to two Iraqi security officials and one Western security source.

Islamic State named its new leader Abu al-Hassan al-Hashemi al-Quraishi in a recorded audio message distributed online.

The announcement came weeks after the death last month of Abu Ibrahim al-Quraishi, the man who in turn succeeded Baghdadi in 2019 and became the group’s second so-called caliph. Both Baghdadi and Quraishi died by blowing themselves and family members up during U.S. raids on their hideouts in northern Syria….

The new leader’s real name is Juma Awad al-Badri, he is Iraqi and Baghdadi’s elder brother, two Iraqi security officials told Reuters on Friday. A Western security official confirmed the two men were brothers, but did not specify which was older….

Little is known about Badri, but he comes from a close circle of shadowy, battle-hardened Iraqi jihadists who emerged in the aftermath of the 2003 U.S. invasion.

“Badri is a radical who joined salafi jihadist groups in 2003 and was known to always accompany Baghdadi as a personal companion and Islamic legal adviser,” one of the Iraqi security officials said.

The official said Badri has long been head of Islamic State’s Shura Council, a leadership group that guides strategy and decides succession when a caliph is killed or captured.

Research by the late Iraqi Islamic State expert Hisham al-Hashemi published online in 2020 said Badri was leader of the five-member Shura Council.

The audio recording announcing the new leader said he had been named by Quraishi as his successor before his death.

Badri’s nom-de-guerre, also Quraishi, indicates that like his brother and his predecessor he is believed to trace his lineage from the Prophet Mohammed, giving him religious clout among fellow jihadists….

“Recent assessments … put the group’s reserves at between $25 million and $50 million,” it said, but added that Islamic State spends more than it earns, relying on “opportunistic extortion, looting and kidnap for ransom.”…