Erdogan announced the “neutralization” of the “accused leader” of Islamic State
The “presumed leader” of the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) was “neutralized” during an operation in Syria on Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a press conference in Brussels on March 24, 2022.
AFP
“The supposed leader of Daesh, codenamed Abu Hussein al-Qurachi, was neutralized yesterday in Syria during an operation conducted by the MIT (Turkish Secret Services),” the Turkish head of state announced during a televised interview. Turkish intelligence has been following the IS leader’s trail for “a long time,” he said, without providing further details about the circumstances of the operation.
On November 30, it announced the death of its previous leader, Abu Hassan al-Hachimi al-Qurachi, without specifying the circumstances. Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurachi was immediately appointed in his place, IS said.
According to an AFP correspondent in northern Syria, Turkish intelligence services and local military police, backed by Turkey, encircled the western part of the Afrin region (northeast), north of the town of Zanderis, about ten kilometers from Turkey, on Saturday. border Residents who spoke to AFP said the operation targeted an abandoned farmhouse that once served as an Islamic school.
Turkey has been stationing troops in northern Syria since 2020 and controls entire areas through its Syrian proxies.
Deadly attacks
The U.S. military has carried out several strikes against IS leaders in Syria over the past few years. He announced in mid-April that he had “probably” killed in northern Syria the leader of a jihadist group planning attacks in Europe and the Middle East. The US military’s Middle East Command (CENTCOM) identified the senior IS leader in Syria as Abdel Hadi Mahmoud al-Haji Ali.
Despite losing ground in the region, IS is still carrying out attacks in Syria. On April 16, 41 people, including 24 civilians, were killed in two jihadist attacks on sand miners and goat herders in the country.
In early April, the US military announced it had killed an IS leader responsible for attacks in Europe, identified as Khaled Ayd Ahmad al-Jabouri. IS has been responsible for a series of deadly attacks in Europe during its rule, while controlling large swaths of Syria and Iraq.
In October 2019, Washington announced the death of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi during a US operation. Two of his successors were killed in Syria in February and November 2022.
AFP
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