The jihadist group Islamic State (IS) has for the first time confirmed the death of its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and named his successor. An IS outlet announced on the messaging service Telegram that Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Qurashi was the group's new leader and "caliph". US special forces tracked down Baghdadi in north-west Syria at the weekend and attacked his compound. The IS leader fled into a tunnel and killed himself with a suicide vest. The Iraqi had a $25m (£19m) bounty on his head and had been pursued by the US and its allies since the rise of IS five years ago. The jihadist group Islamic State (IS) has for the first time confirmed the death of its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and named his successor. An IS outlet announced on the messaging service Telegram that Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Qurashi was the group's new leader and "caliph". US special forces tracked down Baghdadi in north-west Syria at the weekend and attacked his compound. The IS leader fled into a tunnel and killed himself with a suicide vest. The Iraqi had a $25m (£19m) bounty on his head and had been pursued by the US and its allies since the rise of IS five years ago.