Abu Hussein al-Qurashi, the suspected leader of Islamic State group Daesh, was killed in an operation in Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday. He added that the operation was carried by Turkey’s MIT intelligence agency, Turkish.

“The suspected leader of Daesh, codename Abu Hussein al-Qurashi, has been neutralised in an operation carried out yesterday (Saturday) by the MIT in Syria,” Erdogan announced on television.

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“MIT (the National Intelligence Organization) has been tracking the so-called leader of Daesh, Abu Hussein al-Qurashi, for a long time,” Erdogan said during an interview.

The operation took place at 1 am on Saturday when Turkish forces stormed a house in Jindires, a village about 7 kilometers from the Turkish border. Al-Qurashi refused to surrender and was surrounded by Turkish forces at the compound. He then blew himself up using explosives strapped to his body.

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Who is Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi?

Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi was the fourth leader of the Islamic State (IS), from November 30, 2022, to April 29, 2023. He was appointed to the position by IS spokesman Abu Omar Al-Muhajir in an audio recording saying that his predecessor Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi was killed in battle.

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Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the founder of ISIS was killed by US forces in 2019.

He became the leader of the Islamic State after the death of the previous leader Abu al-Hasan. He was named as a leader by ISIS’ official spokesperson Abu Unar al-Muhajir in an audio message shared by Al-Furqan Media Foundation.

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According to Iraqi media reports published on February 27, Abu Al-Hussein was killed by the Iraqi Army in the desert of Anbar, but Iraqi military officials have not confirmed these reports.

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At its peak in 2014, ISIS occupied roughly one-third of Syria and Iraq, resulting in a major humanitarian crisis. The group led several terrorist attacks around the world but its so-called leader has all but disappeared. ISIS now controls only small pieces of land.