Former fighters of the Syrian opposition recounted the circumstances of the killing of the leader of the "Islamic State" organization, called Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, whose death was announced by the organization on Wednesday in the countryside of Daraa Governorate, southern Syria.

A spokesman for the "Islamic State" announced on Wednesday - in a recording attributed to him - that the organization appointed Abu Al-Hussein Al-Husseini Al-Qurashi as a new leader, and confirmed the killing of its third leader, "Abu Al-Hassan Al-Hashemi Al-Qurashi" during a clash, without specifying the place and time.

The US military confirmed - in a statement - the killing of the leader of the "Islamic State" organization in the city of Jassim in the countryside of Daraa Governorate at the hands of the Free Syrian Army affiliated with the opposition in mid-October in southern Syria, explaining that he had no role in the operation.

Reuters news agency quoted fighters who took part in an operation that resulted in the killing of al-Qurashi that he blew himself up after local fighters surrounded him and a number of his aides in the Syrian city of Jasim.

The sources said that Al-Qurashi and his assistants were spotted in a secret hideout in one of the 3 houses targeted by the operation, which was carried out by fighters from the city of Jassem, with field support from the Fifth Corps (a faction established by the Russians from former opposition fighters to fight alongside the Syrian regime forces) and artillery support from the regime forces that The city was cordoned off.

Reuters quoted Salem Al-Hourani - a former fighter who participated in the siege of the three houses in which the ISIS cell was monitored - as saying, "The leader of the organization and one of his companions blew themselves up with two explosive belts after our fighters succeeded in storming their hideout."

The accounts confirmed the killing of the leader of the "Islamic State" organization in Daraa Governorate, southern Syria (Al-Jazeera)

Information exchange

On the other hand, the French Press Agency quoted a fighter who participated in the operation - which lasted for 5 days - that the houses in which the ISIS cell were hiding were identified after exchanging information with the Syrian regime.

The Syrian fighter added, "We thought at the beginning that the operation would end on the same day, but their number is close to 100, and two of them blew themselves up" as the operation began.

The battles focused on 5 houses, before it included 20 houses, and ended with the killing of members of the organization, including an Iraqi called Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Iraqi.

It is not certain whether Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Iraqi is the same person called Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, or if the latter is one of the dead whose identity remains unknown.

It was not possible to verify the authenticity of the accounts reported by the fighters from independent sources.

ISIS - which in 2014 took control of large areas in Syria and Iraq - suffered a first defeat in Iraq in 2017 and then Syria in 2019, and lost all of its main areas of control.

However, its hidden members still launch attacks, albeit limited ones, in the two countries, especially against the security forces, and the organization also claims attacks in other countries.

The US forces succeeded in arresting leaders of the organization in several killings, most notably its former leaders Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in October 2019 and then Abu Ibrahim al-Qurashi last February in Idlib Governorate, northwestern Syria, before announcing the death of its third leader.

And last July, the United States announced that it had killed the leader of the Islamic State in Syria, Maher al-Akal, in a strike carried out by a drone, and the Central Command in the Pentagon described him as "one of the five most prominent leaders" in this organization.