Turkish authorities detained ISIS’s new leader during a recent raid in Istanbul city, You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. reported on May 26, citing senior Turkish officials.
Turkish news website OdaTV identified the detained man as Abu al-Hassan al-Qurayshi. The terrorist became the “caliph” of ISIS on March 10, replacing Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi who died during a US raid that targeted his hideout in the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib on February 3.
The terrorist leader was reportedly captured following lengthy police surveillance of a house where he was staying in Istanbul. Turkish forces didn’t open fire during the raid.
Abu al-Hassan comes from a close circle of battle-hardened Iraqi terrorists who emerged in the aftermath of the 2003 US invasion.
Two unnamed Iraqi security officials told Reuters Abu al-Hassan real name is Juma Awad al-Badri, and he is the elder brother of former ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who died during a US raid in Greater Idlib on 26 October 2019.
According to Bloomberg and OdaTV, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been informed of the capture of ISIS leader. He is expected to announce the arrest in the coming days.
News of Abu al-Hassan capture came as the Turkish military is preparing to launch a large-scale operation in Syria against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Kurdish-led received and continue to receive massive support from the US under the pretext of fighting ISIS.
If the capture of Abu al-Hassan is confirmed, it will be a major achievement for Erdogan who will likely use it to justify a new military operation in Syria.