On 29 October 2019, Trump stated on social media that al-Baghdadi's "number one replacement" had been killed by American forces, adding: "Most likely would have taken the top spot - Now he is also Dead!"[149] While Trump did not specify a name, a U.S. official later confirmed that Trump was referring ISIL spokesman and senior leader Abul-Hasan al-Muhajir,[150] who was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Syria two days earlier.[151] Less than a week after the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on 31 October, ISIL named Abu Ibrahim al Hashimi al-Qurayshi as Baghdadi's successor,[152] indicating that the group still considers itself a caliphate despite having lost all of its territory in Iraq and Syria.[153] Two other individuals close to Baghdadi and believed to have been present in his last video appearance,[154] the Saudi Abu Saleh al-Juzrawi and the Tunisian Abu Othman al-Tunsi, were also named as possible candidates to succeed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.[7][155]