Some Turkish media have reported that there are indications that it may be the so-called Abu Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurasi, an Iraqi who is the new self-proclaimed caliph (supreme leader) of IS.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Thursday that Turkish forces have captured a “senior official” of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group.
The Turkish president said that this jihadist leader is known by the nickname Abu Zeid and his real name is Bashar Khattab Ghazal al-Sumaydai, addressing journalists accompanying him on the return flight after his tour of three Balkan states.
He added that a UN report released in July named Shumaydai as “one of the main leaders of this terrorist organization”.
Some Turkish media have reported that there are indications that Sumaydai may be the so-called Abu Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurasi, an Iraqi who is the new self-proclaimed caliph (supreme leader) of IS.
“This terrorist’s connections in Syria and Istanbul have been monitored for a long time, and the intelligence services had information that he would be operating illegally in Turkey,” President Erdogan said.
“He was arrested during an operation by the MİT security service and Istanbul police,” he added, without specifying when.
IS was defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria two years later, but sleeper cells of the jihadist organization continue to carry out bloody attacks in both countries.
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