Sunni Militants In Iraq Name New Leader

A Sunni militant umbrella organization that includes Al-Qaeda in Iraq has announced that it has selected a new leader.

The Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) has posted information on jihadist websites saying the group's new leader, or emir, is Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi al-Husseini al-Qurashi.

The new leader replaces Abu Omar al-Baghdadi who was killed in a U.S.-Iraqi air strike in April along with Al-Qaeda in Iraq's leader Abu Ayyub al-Misri.
The posting also announced that Abu Abdullah al-Hassani al-Qurashi was named as the group's deputy leader.

On May 14, Al-Qaeda in Iraq named al-Nasser Lideen Allah Abu Suleiman as minister of war. Abu Suleiman vowed that "a long gloomy night and dark days colored in blood" awaited Iraq's Shi'ite population.

compiled from agency reports