ANKARA

One of the most important senior executives of the Daesh/ISIS terrorist organization has been captured in Türkiye, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Thursday.

Terrorist Bashar Khattab Ghazal al-Sumaidai, codenamed Abu Zeid/Master Zeid, was captured in a successful operation by the Turkish intelligence and Istanbul police, Erdogan told reporters on the presidential plane on his way back from a three-nation Balkan tour.

"International reports and the UN Security Report also contained information that this terrorist was one of the senior executives of the Daesh terrorist organization," he noted.

Erdogan said the terrorist’s connections in Syria and Istanbul had been followed for a long time, and intelligence information was obtained that he would enter Türkiye illegally.

It was determined by the Istanbul security units that the terrorist used a fake identity, he added.

Erdogan said the terrorist was transferred to the judicial authorities on the order of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, after being questioned by the National Intelligence Organization and the Istanbul police.

A UN Security Council report published on July 11, 2022 said the terrorist took part in the management of the terror group.

According to the report, on Feb. 3, Daesh leader Amir Muhammad Sa'id Abdal-Rahman al-Salbi was killed in the US-led operation in Atmah, near the Turkish border, and on March 10, the Daesh/ISIS announced that Abu l-Hassan al-Hashemi al-Qurashi would take his place.

Although the actual identity of Abu al-Hassan has not yet been determined, it is considered among the member states that this person is most likely Bashar Khattap Ghazal Al-Sumaidai from Iraq.
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