On the 1st of May, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was interviewed by TRT Turk following his stomach illness from the following week. Erdogan, who is currently on his re-election campaign and appears to be falling behind in the polls, revealed information that could possibly reinvigorate his popularity. While on TRT Turk, Erdogan stated how Turkey’s national intelligence organization, the MIT, successfully “neutralized” ISIS leader Abu Hussein al-Qurashi.

Erdogan says on April 30th, Turkish special forces, a part of the MIT, raided the location of Abu Hussein al-Qurashi. al-Qurashi was hiding within Northern Syria, in the town of Jinderes. The town is located near the Syrian-Turkish border. Northern Syria has been known as the “last safe haven” for ISIS, after the expulsion of ISIS from Iraq in 2017. The raid lasted 4 hours, and al-Qurashi committed suicide by explosive vest.

During the interview Erdogan said that the MIT had been investigating al-Qurashi “for a long time.” The MIT was able to discern al-Qurashi location through a number of covert and secretive operations.

The reign of al-Qurashi as ISIS leader was relatively short, only lasting a little over a year. His predecessor, Abu al Hassen al Hashimi al Qurashi, was killed in March of 2022 by Turkish back militants known as Free Syria Army.

Turkey itself has been at war with ISIS since 2013. Due to Turkey’s close proximity to Syria and other war torn countries, Turkey has been a common target from many terrorist attacks.

It is unknown if this victory will help Erdogan in the upcoming election on May 14th.