The jihadist militia "Islamic State" (IS) has confirmed the death of its leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Kuraishi and appointed a successor.
The IS fighters have sworn allegiance to Abu Hassan al-Hashimi al-Kuraishi, the extremists said in a statement on Thursday.
According to the US government, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Kuraishi blew himself up during a US operation in northwestern Syria in February.
In addition to Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Kuraishi, IS spokesman Abu Hamsa al-Kuraishi was "recently" killed, the IS statement said.
US President Joe Biden said after the death of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Kuraishi that US forces had "eliminated a major terrorist threat to the world".
Still 10,000 IS fighters
Little is known about the new IS leader.
He is the third leader of the IS militia after Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Kuraishi and militia founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was killed in a US operation in 2019.
His rise to the top of the IS comes against the background of an increasing weakening of the jihadist militia.
In 2014, IS conquered large regions of Iraq and Syria.
After the military victory of the US-led international coalition over the so-called caliphate set up by IS in 2016, the jihadist militia remained active in the region.
A UN report last year concluded that there are still around 10,000 active IS fighters in Iraq and Syria.