Turkiye captures 'senior' Daesh leader

Daesh commander captured in Turkey

09 Sep 2022; MEMO: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on 9 September that Turkish security forces had arrested a "senior executive" of Daesh, local Turkish media reports.

According to the report, Erdogan said the Daesh commander, known as Abu Zeyd, was captured by Turkish security forces.

Erdogan said a UN Security Council report published in July identified Sumaidai as "one of the senior executives of the (ISIL) terrorist organisation".

Turkish media said there were some indications that Sumaidai may, in fact, be the man known as Abu Hasan Al-Hashimi Al-Qurashi – an Iraqi who is the new self-proclaimed caliph, or leader, of the entire ISIL group.

Turkiye captured 120 Daesh members this year as it tries to fight against radical groups in the region.