Islamic State leader killed in Syria by Turkish intelligence services, Erdogan says

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said that the suspected ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) chief has been killed in Syria in an operation carried out by Turkey's MIT intelligence agency.

Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization had been tracking Abu al-Hussein Al-Qurashi “for a long time,” Erdogan said. 

Abu al-Hussein Al-Qurashi was appointed ISIS chief after the group announced the death of its former leader Abu Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi on November 30. 

Erdogan said Turkey’s fight against terrorism contributes to Europe’s security and added, Europe “is not aware of this or does not want to be aware of it.”

Erdogan had recently been out of the public eye due to illness. Turkish intelligence agents and local military police had on Saturday, sealed off a zone in Jindires, in the northwest region of Afrin, AFP reported.

The US, in April, carried out a helicopter raid in northern Syria, saying ISIS had been planning attacks in Europe and the Middle East.