A symbolic file photo of Islamic State group militants marching in Raqqa, Syria. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on 30 April that Turkish intelligence forces had killed Abu Hussein al-Qureshi, the leader of the Islamic State in Syria. Photo Credit: AP
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that Turkish intelligence forces killed Islamic State leader Abu Hussein al-Qurashi in Syria.
“This person was neutralized yesterday in Syria as part of an operation by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organisation,” Mr Erdogan said in an interview TRT Turk broadcaster.
Mr Erdogan said the intelligence organization had followed Qureshi for a long time.
Syrian local and security sources said the attack took place in the northern Syrian town of Jandaris, which is controlled by Turkish-backed rebel groups and was badly hit by the February 6 earthquake that affected both Turkey and Syria.
The Syrian National Army, an opposition faction that has a security presence in the area, did not immediately issue a comment.
A resident said clashes began on the banks of Jandari from Saturday to Sunday, lasting about an hour before residents heard a huge explosion.
Later the area was cordoned off by security forces to prevent anyone from entering the area.
IS elected al-Qurashi as its leader in November 2022 after the previous IS leader was killed in an operation in southern Syria.
The Islamic State captured vast swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014, and its chief at the time, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, declared an Islamic caliphate across the region, in which millions of people live.
But IS lost its hold on the region following operations by US-backed forces in Syria and Iraq, as well as Syrian forces backed by Iran, Russia and various paramilitaries.
Its remaining thousands of militants have been holed up in recent years, mostly in the remote hinterlands of both countries, though they are still capable of carrying out major hit-and-run attacks.
The US-led coalition, along with a Kurdish-led coalition known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), is still conducting raids against IS officials in Syria.
In some cases, senior IS figures have been targeted hiding in areas where Turkey has major influence.