Leader of so-called Islamic State killed in battle, group says

The leader of the Islamic State group, Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, has been killed (Hussein Malla/AP)

The leader of the so-called Islamic State group, Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, was killed in battle recently, the group’s spokesman has said.

Al-Qurayshi is the second IS leader to be killed this year at a time when the extremist group has been trying to rise again, with its sleeper cells carrying out deadly attacks in Iraq and Syria. Its affiliate in Afghanistan also claimed attacks that killed dozens in recent months.