The new leader of Islamic State has been revealed as Iraqi Amir Mohammed Abdul Rahman al-Mawli al-Salbi.
Two intelligence services said al-Salbi took over from Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi after the terrorist leader blew himself up in October.
Al-Salbi, who helped found ISIS, brought in brutal Sharia Law in Iraq and Syria, led the enslavement of the Yazidi and has operated across the world.
The new leader of Islamic State has been revealed as Iraqi Amir Mohammed Abdul Rahman al-Mawli al-Salbi (pictured)
The terrorist was made leader just hours after al-Baghdadi, 48, died, despite his named being reported as Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi.
This was a nom de guerre and officials said they had heard little of the ‘nobody’ at the time.
Spies have unmasked al-Salbi over the past three months and paint a picture of a hardened extremist similar to al-Baghdadi, according to the Guardian.
The Mosul-born leader is believed to be one of the most influential ideologues left in ISIS’s depleted ranks and is one of the last non-Arabs.
Al-Salbi was born in Tal Afar, a city near Mosul, to Iraqi Turkmen and went on to study Sharia Law at the University of Mosul.
After a background as an Islamic scholar, he rose the ranks in the terror organisation, and tried to justify an attempted genocide on the Yazidi people.
Two intelligence services said al-Salbi took over from Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (pictured) after the terrorist leader blew himself up in October
As chief legislator he made it so homosexuals were thrown off roofs and women accused of adultery were stoned.
He is also known as ‘The Professor’ and ‘The Destroyer’, and took over operations from al-Baghdadi from July after the leader struggled with his health after an airstrike.
The two became friends while caged in US Camp Bucca detention centre in Umm Qasr, Iraq.
The Americans put a $5million bounty on al-Salbi’s head – as well as two other senior terrorists – before al-Baghdadi died.
Al-Salbi claims he is a direct descendant from the Prophet Mohammed.
Al-Baghdadi was cornered by Delta Force commandos as they stormed his compound in the village of Barisha near Idlib, northern Syria, on October 26.
Norway’s government collapses over decision to allow ISIS bride to return from Syria
Norway’s government has collapsed over the decision to allow an ISIS bride to return to the country from Syria with her children.
The populist Progress Party pulled out of Norway’s coalition government today after the mother was permitted repatriation so that her gravely ill five-year-old son could receive medical treatment.
Prime Minister Erna Solberg, leader of the Conservative Party, speaks on Monday after the populist Progress Party said it would no longer support her government
The 29-year-old and her two children have been living in the Al-Hol camp in Syria – notorious in Britain as the detention centre which held Shamima Begum.
Prime Minister Erna Solberg said she would forge on with a minority government comprised of her Conservatives, the centrist Liberal Party and the Christian Democrats.
Progress Party leader Siv Jensen said ‘the cup is now full’ after the decision, on which her anti-immigration party feels it was not consulted.
The extremist cleric blew himself up by detonating a suicide belt after running into a dead end and dragging two of his children with him to their deaths.
According to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, two of Baghdadi’s wives were killed in the assault.
The raid was a major blow to ISIS, which has lost territories it held in Syria and Iraq in a series of military defeats by the US-led coalition and Syrian and Iraqi allies.
Many IS members escaped through smuggling routes to north-western Syria in the final days of battle ahead of the group’s territorial defeat last year, while others melted into the desert in Syria or Iraq.
In searching for al-Salbi, spies have been drawn to Turkey where his brother Adel – who he was reportedly in touch with until October – works for political party Turkmen Iraqi Front.
It is unclear where the new leader is now, but it is thought he may have opted for one of the towns west of Mosul.
Despite ISIS being ousted from its final stronghold in Syria in March last year, Kurdish officials have warned they are coming under increased attacks again.
One senior official told the Guardian: ‘We’ve seen significant uptick in Isis attacks from mid last year, with the centre of gravity having now moved further south.
‘We’re now tracking on average 60 attacks a month through assassinations, roadside bombs and assaults on Iraqi security forces.
‘Their rural networks remain very much intact; after all, Isis members in Iraq still receive monthly salaries and training in remote mountainous areas. That network allows the organisation to endure, even when militarily defeated.’
The unmasking comes days after obese ISIS ‘mufti’ Shifa al-Nima was arrested in Iraq.
The terrorist was so heavy he had to be loaded onto the back of a truck to be transported.
Al-Nima, who is considered one of the biggest captures in recent months, was hauled from his Mosul bolthole by Iraqi security forces after he was found.
Shifa al-Nima, considered one of the biggest captures in recent months, was hauled from his Mosul bolthole by Iraqi security forces after he was found
After establishing the terrorist was too big to go in a police car, security forces loaded him onto the back of a truck
Dubbed Jabba the Hutt after the slug-like Star Wars villain, he issued fatwas, or religious rulings, that led to the execution of scholars and clerics and the destruction of an ancient tomb in the city.
The terrorist, who could not be transported in a police car, was pictured wedged against a mounted machine gun in the open back of a vehicle on Wednesday night.
It is unclear how 300lb al-Nima was removed from his hiding place.
Iraqi police said the ‘mufti’ is considered one of ISIS’s foremost leaders.