Shafaq News/ The Islamic State (ISIS) extremist group has confirmed the death of its leader, Abu Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi, and named Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi as his replacement.

The group said on Thursday that its leader had been killed in “direct clashes” in rebel-held northwestern Syria with the Hayaat Tahrir al-Sham group.

The announcement was made by an ISIS spokesman in a recorded message on its channels on the Telegram messaging app, without specifying when he was killed.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in April that Turkish intelligence forces had killed the leader in Syria.