US official says Turkey’s claim of killing ISIS leader in Syria not confirmed
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – As the Turkish president claimed the killing of an Islamic State (ISIS) leader in northwest Syria, US stressed that the claim was not confirmed, Al-Monitor said on Monday.
On April 30, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Turkish intelligence forces killed the ISIS leader “Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurayshi” in the Turkish-occupied town of Jindires of Afrin, northwestern Syria.
“We are unable to confirm this. Furthermore, we have no information that would support this claim,” a US official told Al-Monitor via email.
Erdogan’s claim came two weeks ahead of the presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for May 14.
Director of the Media Center of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Farhad Shami said, in a tweet, that al-Qurayshi was stationed in a military post belonging to Ahrar al-Sharqiya faction, affiliated with Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, aka Syrian National Army (SNA), and was killed in Jindires.
Hundreds of ISIS militants move in the Turkish occupied Syrian areas, as several leaders were killed there in the recent years.
In July 2022, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the killing of one of the top five ISIS leaders and the leader of ISIS in Syria, in a strike in Jindires.
In December 2022, the British Ministry of Defense announced the targeting of an ISIS leader in the city of al-Bab, in the eastern countryside of Aleppo, northern Syria.
In the same month, another ISIS leader was wounded in an airstrike, likely by the US-led Global Coalition, which targeted his home in al-Bab.