Erdogan announced that the “accused leader” of Islamic State had been “neutralized” in Syria.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a televised interview on Sunday that the Turkish secret service had “neutralized” the “predicted leader” of Islamic State. Abu al-Hussein al-Husayni al-Qurachi was appointed after the death of the previous leader in late November.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that the “suspected leader” of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group was “neutralized” in Syria on Saturday during an operation led by Turkish intelligence.

During an interview with TRD Turk TV channel, the Turkish head of state said, “The supposed leader of Daesh, code name Abu Hussein al-Qurachi, was neutralized yesterday during an operation carried out by the MIT (Turkish secret services) in Syria.”

Erdogan said Turkish intelligence had been tracking the IS leader “for a long time,” without providing further details about the circumstances of the operation.

The previous chairman died in November

On November 30, it announced the death of its previous leader, Abu Hassan al-Hachimi al-Qurachi, without specifying the circumstances. Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurachi was immediately appointed in his place, IS said.

According to an AFP correspondent in northern Syria, Turkish intelligence services and local military police backed by Turkey sealed off an area near the town of Gintres in northwestern Afrin region on Saturday.

Residents who spoke to AFP said the operation targeted an abandoned farmhouse that once served as an Islamic school.

The U.S. military said U.S. helicopter gunships in northern Syria targeted an IS leader who was “probably” killed as he planned attacks in Europe and the Middle East in mid-April.

Despite losing ground in the region, IS is still carrying out attacks in Syria. On April 16, 41 people, including 24 civilians, were killed in two attacks by the jihadist group against sand miners and herders in the country.