Turkey says suspected Islamic State leader killed in Syria

Turkish president said Turkish intelligence forces killed Islamic State leader Abu Hussein al-Qurashi in Syria

Isis selected Abu Hussein al-Qurashi as its leader in November 2022 after the previous leader was killed in an operation

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Islamic State has lost grip on territory in Iraq and Syria. File photo: AP

Published: 6:48am, 1 May 2023Updated: 9:02am, 1 May 2023

The suspected leader of Islamic State has been killed in Syria in an operation carried out by Turkey’s MIT intelligence agency, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday.

“The suspected leader of Daesh, code name Abu Hussein al-Qurashi, has been neutralised in an operation carried out yesterday (Saturday) by the MIT in Syria,” he announced on television, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State (Isis).

Islamic State announced the death of its previous leader, Abu Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, on November 30, replacing him with Abu Hussein al-Qurashi.

The Syrian National Army, an opposition faction with a security presence in the area, did not immediately issue any comment.

An Agence France-Presse correspondent in northern Syria said Turkish intelligence agents and local military police, backed by Turkey, had on Saturday sealed off a zone in Jindires, in the northwest region of Afrin.

Residents told Agence France-Presse that an operation had targeted an abandoned farm that was being used as an Islamic school.

Turkey has deployed troops in northern Syria since 2020, and controls entire zones with the help of Syrian auxiliaries.

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