“Inside the Operation: Last-Minute Neutralization of DEASH Leader Revealed”
Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization, MIT, successfully neutralized the leader of DAESH, code-named Qureshi, on April 29, 2023. President Erdogan announced the accomplishment in a statement on April 30, sharing that MIT had been following Qureshi for a long time before conducting the operation. The terrorist organization’s new leader, Abu Huseyn al-Huseyni al-Kureshi, had previously been determined to move frequently and was found to be located in Afrin/Cinderes in the north of Syria before the operation was carried out.
According to reports, during the operation, MIT’s special operations team broke into the building where Qureshi was located by first blasting the garden wall, rear entrance doors, and side walls of the house, which also had a camouflaged underground bunker. A call to surrender was made to Qureshi, but he refused to respond, instead detonating his suicide vest. Thankfully, neither the MIT special operations team nor any civilians were harmed during the four-hour operation.
The successful mission has garnered international media attention, with various news outlets reporting on the story. CBS News highlighted Turkey’s active role in controlling all regions in northern Syria since 2020, while France 24 focused on Erdogan’s announcement of Qureshi’s neutralization. Meanwhile, Al Jazeera, one of the most important media outlets in the Middle East, provided extensive coverage of Erdogan’s statements.
The achievement of neutralizing the so-called leader of DAESH has brought a victory to Turkey’s counter-terrorism efforts and serves as a reminder that terrorism will not be tolerated.
