Türkiye neutralized Abu al-Qurayshi, the so-called leader of Daesh/ISIS terrorist organization, during an operation in Syria on Saturday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has announced.
"The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) had been following the so-called leader of Daesh, code-named Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi, for a long time.
"This is the first time I am telling this here. This person was neutralized in an operation carried out by the MIT yesterday," Erdoğan said in a live interview on Turkish broadcaster TRT Turk on Sunday.
"We will continue our struggle with terrorist organizations without any discrimination," he added.
In 2013, Türkiye became one of the first countries to declare Daesh/ISIS a terrorist organization.
The country has since been attacked by the terror group multiple times, with over 300 people killed and hundreds more injured in at least 10 suicide bombings, seven bomb attacks, and four armed assaults.
In response, Türkiye launched anti-terror operations at home and abroad to prevent further attacks.
