I've removed paywall for now & added more resources for context on killing of IS leader. It's clear that fighting in Jasim that killed him only occurred after repeated Syrian govt pressure on notables & militiamen in Jasim to crack down on IS cells in town aymennaltamimi.substack.com/p/the-killing-… Lu'ay al-Ali,who heads Deraa branch of Syrian military intel,repeatedly demanded Jasim notables & representatives to fight IS cells & mentioned presence of 'foreigners'.Opposition activists et al. denied their presence & claimed it was govt pretext for further control & extortion

Islamic State announces the killing of its leader Abu al-Hasan al-Qurashi and appointment of a ‘new caliph’ Abu al-Hussein al-Qurashi. Pretty clear this invalidates the idea that Abu al-Hasan was Bashar al-Sumaida’ie since the Turks have that guy in custody. I get some might be inclined to dismiss this as ruse, but worth remembering last spokesman of IS (Abu Hamza al-Qurashi) was killed w/o outside world realising it had happened.Similarly also Hajji Bakr got killed in infighting w/Syrian rebels w/o latter realising his significance

Couple of general thoughts based on observing various takes:
(i) Status quo in Afghanistan prior to the withdrawal wasn't sustainable as some imagine. The military and security situation seemed rather similar to the deterioration in northern and western Iraq in 2013-2014. (ii) There wasn't going to be a political solution/'power sharing.' Should have been obvious considering the Taliban sees its project as an Islamic emirate and has used that title in its communiqués.

On question whether Baghdadi could have been taken alive, it's unlikely. The reported manner in which he was killed is similar to the death of IS figure Abu Ali al-Anbari in 2016. A special ops raid came down and Anbari blew himself up. aymennjawad.org/21877/the-biog… Also re. the question of succession: there's a guy who repeatedly turns up in insider testimonies as 'al-Hajj Abdullah': a deputy of Baghdadi. Check some examples here aymennjawad.org/22273/advice-t…

aymennjawad.org/22715/oppositi…

Members of Islamic State’s Jaysh Khalid bin al-Waleed have gone out of the Yarmouk Basin to participate in fighting against govt alongside the rebels (heard from both sides of the frontlines). If so, looks like this was a condition Jaysh Khalid imposed for a ceasefire. As one source puts it: ‘With the presence of frogs [traitors] and the Free Army betraying each other, there is no means except to stand shoulder to shoulder and go forward with each other.’