According to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the group leader has been killed.
(Photo: dpa)
Istanbul The leader of the Islamic State (IS) extremist group, Abu Hussein al-Kurashi, has been killed, according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “This person was neutralized yesterday as part of an operation by the Turkish secret service in Syria,” Erdogan said in an interview with TRT Turk on Sunday.
The secret service had long been on the trail of al-Kurashi and killed him in Syria on Saturday. Syrian security sources said the raid took place in the northern Syrian city of Jandaris.
According to a local resident, clashes erupted on the outskirts of town on Saturday night and lasted about an hour, followed by an explosion. The area was cordoned off by security forces. The city is controlled by Turkey-backed rebel groups.
The region was one of the hardest hit by the earthquake in the Turkish-Syrian border area on February 6. In April, US special forces killed a senior member of the Islamic State (IS) extremist group in Syria.
At the end of November last year, IS announced the violent death of its leader at the time and declared al-Kurashi his successor.
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