The leader of the Islamic State jihadist group, killed on Saturday in northwestern Syria, set off an explosive belt during the Turkish secret service operation, official Turkish media reported on Monday.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Sunday evening that "
the presumed leader of Daesh, code name Abu Hussein al-Qourachi
", had been "
neutralized
" the day before in Syria during an operation by the Turkish intelligence services (MIT).
According to the state news agency Anadolu, the leader of the jihadist group, Abu Al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurachi, was recluse in a house with an "underground bunker", a few kilometers north of Jaindaris, in the province of Afrin, neighboring Turkey.
Images broadcast by several Turkish media, including the official TRT television channel, show a two-story dwelling, surrounded by fields, with partially blown walls.
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Anadolu reports that a "
call for surrender
" was launched by the intervention forces, remained unanswered.
Members of the Turkish secret service then blew up the side walls and the doors at the back of the house in order to enter it, the agency continued.
The leader of the jihadist group then set off an explosive belt, Anadolu said.
IS announced on November 30 the death of its previous leader, Abu Hassan al-Hachimi al-Qourachi, without specifying the circumstances.
He was immediately replaced by Abu Al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurachi, according to IS.
In October 2019, Washington announced the death of the first leader of IS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, during an American operation in Syria.
His first successor, Abu Ibrahim al-Hachimi al-Qurachi, was killed in February 2022, also in Syria.
Despite its territorial defeat, IS is still carrying out attacks in the country.
At least 41 people, including 24 civilians, were killed in mid-April in Syria in two attacks attributed to the jihadist group against sand truffle collectors and shepherds.
