Erdogan: Daesh leader killed himself for fear of being arrested

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday that Daesh leader, Abu Hussein Al-Qurashi, who was killed in Syria in an operation carried out by the Turkish intelligence forces, set off a suicide vest that he was wearing for fear of being arrested, the Anadolu news agency said, adding that no Turkish operatives were killed or injured.

“This individual was neutralised as part of an operation by the Turkish national intelligence organisation in Syria yesterday,” Erdogan said in an interview with TRT Turk broadcaster, according to a Reuters report.

Erdogan said the intelligence agencies had pursued Al-Qurashi for a long time.

Syrian local and security sources said the raid took place in the northern Syrian town of Jandaris, which is controlled by Turkish-backed groups and was one of the worst-affected in the 6 February earthquakes that hit both Turkiye and Syria.

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

One resident said clashes started on the edge of Jandaris late on Saturday night, lasting for about an hour before residents heard a large explosion.

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Later, security forces cordoned off the area to prevent anyone from approaching it.

Daesh selected Al-Qurashi as its leader in November 2022 after his predecessor was killed in an operation in southern Syria.

Islamic State took over vast swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014, and its head at the time, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, declared an Islamic caliphate across the territory.

It later lost its grip on the region after campaigns by US-backed forces in Syria and Iraq, as well as Syrian forces backed by Iran, Russia and various paramilitaries.

Its members do, however, continue to carry out attacks on local forces and civilians in Syria and Iraq.