New ISIS Leader Allegedly Arrested in Istanbul

World

May 27th, 6:14am

Ankara - Saeed Abdulrazek

Turkish soldiers during a raid against ISIS members in Istanbul. (Turkish Interior Ministry)

The new leader of the ISIS terrorist group was allegedly arrested in the Turkish city of Istanbul, media reports said on Thursday. Zeid al-Iraqi, known as Abu al-Hassan al-Hashemi al-Qurayshi, was detained days ago in the city. He assumed the leadership of the terror organization after his predecessor, Abu Ibrahim al-Qurayshi, blew himself up in an American raid in Syria in February. Turkey's OdaTV confirmed the arrest without providing details. It said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will make an announcement about the arrest. Senior Turkish officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the arrest was made during a recent raid in Istanbul, reported Bloomberg. They said counter-terrorism police and security intelligence raided al-Qurayshi's house after long surveillance. No statement has been made by the Interior Ministry or any official. Qurayshi was announced as the new leader of ISIS weeks after the killing of his predecessor.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3668621/new-isis-leader-allegedly-arrested-istanbul