Erdogan says Türkiye has killed suspected ISIS leader

The Turkish president reveals that the intelligence operation took place in Jinderes, in northwestern Syria, on Saturday.

Turkish intelligence forces have killed the suspected leader of the ISIL (ISIS) group, Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced.

Erdogan said that Turkish intelligence had been monitoring the suspected leader of the hardline group for a long time before launching its operation.

“This individual was neutralized yesterday as part of an operation by the Turkish national intelligence organization in Syria,” Erdogan said in an interview with broadcaster TRT Turk on Sunday.

“We will continue our fight against terrorist organizations without any kind of discrimination,” added the president.

Syrian security and local sources said the raid took place near the northern Syrian town of Jinderes, which is controlled by Turkish-backed rebel groups and was among the most affected areas in the February 6 earthquake that hit both Turkey and Syria.

There was no announcement from ISIL (ISIS). The Syrian National Army, an opposition faction with a security presence in the area, had no immediate comment.

A correspondent for the AFP news agency in northern Syria said Turkish intelligence agents and local military police, backed by Turkey, had cordoned off an area in Jindires on Saturday.

The complex that allegedly housed #ISISThe world leader of was located outside the city of #Jinderessurrounded by fields of olive trees.

The area was badly affected by the earthquake, resulting in many visits from foreign media and some aid groups.

Look at these pictures of @faizaldoghim060 pic.twitter.com/2M3oqTesTk

—Charles Lister (@Charles_Lister) April 30, 2023

Residents told AFP that an operation had targeted an abandoned farmhouse that was used as an Islamic school.

A resident told the Reuters news agency that the clashes began on the outskirts of the city overnight from Saturday to Sunday and lasted for about an hour before residents heard a large explosion.

Subsequently, the area was surrounded by security forces to prevent anyone from approaching.

Al-Qurashi became leader of ISIL (ISIS) in November 2022 after his predecessor was murdered.

The ISIL (ISIS) group took over vast swaths of Iraq and Syria in 2014, and its boss at the time, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, declared an Islamic caliphate in an area that was home to millions of people.

but the group lost his grip in the territory following campaigns by US-backed forces in Syria and Iraq, as well as Iranian-backed Syrian forces, Russia and various militias.

Its remaining fighters are now mostly hiding out in remote areas of Syria and Iraq, still launching attacks from time to time.