Syrian rebels did not know Iraqi militant killed was IS head

By BASSEM MROUE
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian opposition activists and state media apparently did not know that an Iraqi militant who was killed in October in southern Syria was the leader of the Islamic State group. It became clear on Wednesday that IS leader Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi was killed after the militant group’s spokesman made the announcement in an audio recording. The U.S. military later on Wednesday confirmed that al-Qurayshi was killed by rebels in the southern province of Daraa. An opposition activists who now lives in exile in Jordan and remains in contact with rebels back home said they thought that the man killed in October was the IS commander in southern Syria.