Turkeys intelligence agency has killed a suspected leader of the Islamic State in Syria northern, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday.
“The suspected leader of Daesh, codename Abu Hussein al-Qurashi, has been neutralized in an operation carried out yesterday (Saturday) by the MIT in Syria,” Erdogan announced on television, using the Arabic acronym for the terrorist organization.
The IS announced the death of its previous leader, Abu Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, on 30 November, replacing him with Abu Hussein al-Qurashi.
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 AFP 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.