On November 30, the Islamic State announced that its Emir, Abu al-Hassan al-Qurashi, was “killed in action,” but did not provide any details as to where or when. Later that day, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed al-Qurashi’s death, saying that he was killed during a Free Syrian Army (FSA) operation in the southern Syrian city of Dar’a sometime in mid-October. As stated in my last article, the FSA has not had a presence in years.
Starting in early October, intense clashes began to breakout between ISIS-linked groups and elements of the Eighth Brigade, which is a Russian backed fighting group composed of former FSA fighters who reconciled with the Syrian government in 2018. The Eighth Brigade have been primarily tasked by Russia and Syria to carry out security operations and crack down on ISIS cells in the region.
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— ???? ?? (@daraa_net_2020) October 15, 2022
On October 15, the Eight Brigade, backed by Syrian forces, carried out an operation against an ISIS compound in Jassim, Dar’a, where several high ranking ISIS leaders were killed and captured. Of the killed was a militant named Abd al-Rahman al-Iraqi, who was said to be the ISIS leader in southern Syria.
#Daraa: A source close to the Damascus government revealed that Damascus forces carried out a security operation in the city of Jassim, Daraa. The operation resulted in the killing of 17 ISIS members, including five leaders, three of whom are foreigners. pic.twitter.com/ZEUksKKWVe
— Rojava Network (@RojavaNetwork) October 16, 2022
With all of this being said, al-Qurashi was likely killed during the October 15 operation. It remains unclear if he was al-Iraqi and operating under a different name or was any of the other militants killed in the attack. What can be said is that CENTCOM’s assessment that the operation was carried out by the FSA is a bit misleading as the Eight Brigade is made up of former FSA members who now fight for the Syrian government.
