Turkish intelligence services have arrested five suspected Islamic State members in an operation in northern Syria, just two days after the jihadist group confirmed the death of its leader, Abu al-Hassan al-Hashemi al-Quraishi.
Security sources quoted by the Turkish state news agency, Anatolia, have detailed that the suspects were arrested in a joint operation with the Free Syrian Army (FSA), which brings together various rebel groups backed by Ankara.
Thus, they have detailed that among the detainees is Abu Seif Tadmuri, alias ‘Mohamed Khalid Ali’, at the head of the operations of the jihadist group in the area of the ‘Operation Spring of Peace’, launched in 2019 Turkey against the Kurdish-Syrian militia People’s Protection Units (YPG).
Among the detainees are also Mohamad Sali, alias ‘Abou Omer Korani’; Halit Mohamed Isa al Hulu, alias ‘Abou Islam Salo’; Ali Hussein Ali, alias ‘Abou Hassan Shami’; and Shadi al Setem al Ali, alias ‘Abou Hamza’ and a senior member of the terrorist group’s explosives manufacturing section.
Islamic State confirmed on Wednesday the death of Abu al Hasan al Hashemi al Quraishi, who had taken over in March following the death of Abu Ibrahim al Hashimi al Quraishi during an operation carried out by US special forces in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib.
Following this, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) spokesman Joe Buccino said that Abu al Hassan was killed in mid-October during a FSA operation in the southern Syrian province of Daraa, in what he described as «another blow» to the terrorist group, which has lost three leaders since the 2019 death of Abu Bakr al Baghdadi.
