The Islamic State (ISIS) 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 that its leader had been killed in direct clashes with the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group in Idlib province in rebel-held northwestern Syria. The announcement was made by an ISIL spokesman in a recorded message on its channels on the Telegram messaging app, without specifying when he was killed. <br />''<br />''Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said in April that Turkish intelligence forces had killed the leader in Syria. However, the ISIS spokesman claimed on Thursday that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which controls parts of Idlib province, had killed the group's chief and handed his body to Turkey. It accuses HTS – which has not claimed any operation targeting the ISIL leader – of working in Ankara's interests. The United States and other Western governments have blacklisted HTS as a "terrorist" group.<br />