Ansar Al Islam names a new leader in Iraq

Iraqi Jihadist group Ansar Al Islam announced the name of its new leader, according to US’s SITE center to monitor the jihadist websites. SITE stated that Ansar Al Islam released a statement, naming Abu Hashim Muhammad bin Abdul Rahman Al Ibrahim as its new leader. The statement didn’t mention the former leader of the group Abu Abdullah Al Shafi, who was arrested in Iraq on May 2010. Ansar Al Islam was formed in September 2001, by former Islamists fighters from Afghanistan After the U invasion of Iraq in February 2003, US forces were able to defeat the group, but some of its elements in Iraqi Kurdistan were able to form a new group and calling themselves Ansar Al Sunna. On September 2006, in Arbil in northern Iraq, eleven people suspected of belonging to Ansar Al Islam were executed by hanging. It’s worth mentioning that Iraqi security forces arrested Abu Abdullah al Shafi, the former leader of Ansar Al Islam with seven of his associates during raids in the Baghdad neighborhoods of Mansour and Adhamiyah on May 3, 2010. Ansar Al Islam is accused of linking with Al-Qaeda and is responsible of many bloody attacks in Iraq.