Turkey Claims IS Leader Killed in Syria

Facts

• Turkish Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan claimed on Sunday that the alleged Islamic State (IS) group leader Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi was killed in an operation by Turkey's intelligence agency in Syria.¹
• In an interview with Turkish TV, Erdoğan announced that al-Qurayshi had been neutralized as a result of the intelligence agency's continued efforts to track down the IS leader and vowed that Ankara would continue its fight against any terrorist threat.²
• According to local and Syrian security sources, the operation was carried out near Jinderes, a northern Syrian town controlled by Turkish-backed rebel groups. Citing local residents, AFP reported that an abandoned farm used as an Islamic school had been targeted.³
• IS hasn't yet confirmed the death of Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi, who took over the group in November 2022 after the death of his predecessor, Abu al-Hassan al-Hashemi al-Qurayshi, who the US claimed was killed by the Free Syrian Army in southwestern Syria last October.⁴
• More than 300 people have reportedly been killed and hundreds more injured in Turkey in at least 10 suicide blasts, seven bombings, and four armed attacks by IS over the past decade, prompting Turkish counterterrorism operations.⁵
• Erdoğan's announcement came as he returned to the campaign trail in Istanbul on Saturday after several days of illness, ahead of the May 14 national polls that are expected to be his biggest political challenge after twenty years in power.⁶

Sources: ¹France 24, ²TRT World, ³Al Jazeera, ⁴BBC News, ⁵AA, and ⁶Bloomberg.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Turkish Minute. For Erdoğan to brag on his return to the campaign trail that Turkey killed al-Qurayshi and invoke the fight against terrorism is hypocritical at best, given that it was Erdoğan's Turkey that fueled the rise of jihadists in Syria in the first place. Ankara has used Islamists and rebel groups for its campaign against US-backed Kurdish forces fighting IS and for its strategic goal of toppling the Assad regime. As a result, however, Erdoğan's hubris has undermined not only regional stability but also Turkey's national security.
• Narrative B, as provided by Daily Sabah. While Turkey's killing of the IS leader is further evidence of how serious Ankara is about fighting terrorism, Washington continues to support Kurdish terrorists under the guise of fighting IS, thereby jeopardizing Turkey's national security. However, this will not prevent Ankara from continuing to fight terrorism without distinction, which benefits not only regional security, but ultimately European security as well. This is one of Erdoğan's great achievements, and Turks can be proud of their country and their leader.

Predictions