Previously, I tracked the bayat campaign for Abu Ibrahim after Abu Bakr’s death and then for Abu al-Hasan after Abu Ibrahim’s death. This post will do the same with the announcement of Abu al-Hasan’s death and Abu al-Husayn al-Husayni al-Qurashi as the new leader of the Islamic State. As I said in the original post:
There are two main reasons for this: 1. pledges are leader-specific rather than group-specific and thus need to be renewed with each succession and 2. it is a way to legitimize al-Qurashi’s rule and create a media event so that the group can promote itself as it transitions to a new phase.
The first reason is also something that IS pointed to when it began to overtly feud with al-Qaeda (AQ) in 2013, by saying that following Abu Mus’ab al-Zarqawi’s death, his successor Abu Hamzah al-Muhajir gave baya to the newly created Islamic State of Iraq’s leader Abu ‘Umar al-Baghdadi and even after Abu ‘Umar was killed, when Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi took over in 2010 and then Usamah Bin Laden was killed in 2011, Abu Bakr never publicly gave baya to Ayman al-Zawahiri, even if al-Zawahiri claims he gave it to him privately. Therefore, from the perspective of IS this whole process is not trivial, but important for legitimacy of its leadership and to potentially weed out any insubordination before it manifests into something larger as it already did in the past vis-a-vis AQ.
This post will be updated with the latest official pledges.
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December 1, 2022:
Wilāyat Gharb Ifrīqīyah – Sambisa Region
Wilāyat Khurāsān
Wilāyat al-‘Irāq
Wilāyat Gharb Ifrīqīyah – al-Buhayrah Region
December 2:
Wilāyat Gharb Ifrīqīyah – al-Faruq Region
Wilāyat al-Shām
Wilāyat Gharb Ifrīqīyah – Banki Region
December 3:
Wilāyat al-Yaman
Wilāyat Gharb Ifrīqīyah – Krenoa Region
Wilāyat al-‘Irāq
Wilāyat al-Sāḥil – Azawagh, Tri-Border, and Burkina Faso Regions
Following the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, I tracked the new bayat coming in for the new leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. This post will do the same with the announcement of Abu Ibrahim’s death and Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi as the new leader of the Islamic State. As I said in the original post:
There are two main reasons for this: 1. pledges are leader-specific rather than group-specific and thus need to be renewed with each succession and 2. it is a way to legitimize al-Qurashi’s rule and create a media event so that the group can promote itself as it transitions to a new phase.
The first reason is also something that IS pointed to when it began to overtly feud with al-Qaeda (AQ) in 2013, by saying that following Abu Mus’ab al-Zarqawi’s death, his successor Abu Hamzah al-Muhajir gave baya to the newly created Islamic State of Iraq’s leader Abu ‘Umar al-Baghdadi and even after Abu ‘Umar was killed, when Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi took over in 2010 and then Usamah Bin Laden was killed in 2011, Abu Bakr never publicly gave baya to Ayman al-Zawahiri, even if al-Zawahiri claims he gave it to him privately. Therefore, from the perspective of IS this whole process is not trivial, but important for legitimacy of its leadership and to potentially weed out any insubordination before it manifests into something larger as it already did in the past vis-a-vis AQ.
This post will be updated with the latest official pledges.
Earlier this morning, the Islamic State announced the creation of a new Wilayat al-Hind. While the claim is related to an attack in Kashmir, it likely will also apply to any activity in India in the future as well. As Mina al-Lami notes, this is not the first time IS has claimed an attack in Kashmir before. Previously it was under its Wilayat Khurasan, which is most associated with its operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Therefore, once again, IS is reorganizing its provincial structure. This new system is part of a broader change since the fall of IS’s territorial control in Baghuz, Syria, which ended almost two months ago now. Recently, IS inaugurated a so-called Wilayat Wasat Ifriqiya for its operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s recent video highlights a so-called Wilayat Turkiya for a phantom province in Turkey, which could become more relevant in the future, but time will tell. Either way, it is clear that IS is making a number of changes to further bolster its capabilities outside of Iraq and Syria.
For now, you will find below details on what we know about IS’s prior activities in Kashmir. If anyone wants to add anything to the following dossier let me know and I will post it so there is a fuller picture. From oldest to most recent.
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December 25, 2017:
Part of a broader thread
Online accounts affiliated with so-called Islamic State (IS) have shared a video showing a pledge of allegiance to the group made by “mujahidin in Kashmir”, possibly paving the way for an IS declaration of a new branch there.
Annonce de la mort d'Abu-l-Bara al-Kashmiri, qui était apparu en décembre 2017 dans une vidéo où son groupe faisait allégeance à l'#EI au #Cachemire. pic.twitter.com/EftuH6715I
