ISIS leader killed in 'intelligence operation' in Syria, Turkey's president confirms
1 May 2023, 08:26
Turkish forces killed the leader of the Islamic State group during an operation in Syria over the weekend, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has confirmed.
Mr Erdogan said the IS leader, codenamed Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi, was killed in a strike that was carried out on Saturday after following him "for a long time".
"We will continue our struggle against terrorist organisations without discriminating against any of them," Mr Erdogan told TRT Turk Television.
It follows a number of Turkish operations against Islamic State along the Syrian border, during which key militants have been captured or killed.
Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi was named leader of the terrorist group after its previous leader was killed an October.
ISIS described him as "one of the veteran warrior and one of the loyal sons of the Islamic State".
The death is Islamic State's leader comes just months after the jihadist group said its leader Abu al-Hassan al-Hashemi al-Qurayshi had died.
The United States confirmed he had been killed in south-west Syria in an operation in mid-October.
The previous leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, set off a blast killing himself and his family in February 2022 as American forces surrounded him.
The operation "removed a major terrorist threat to the world", President Biden said.
