Senior ISIS member captured in Türkiye

ANKARA (AA) – One of the most important senior members of the ISIS has been captured in Türkiye, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Thursday.

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.

Erdogan said the man’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 man used a fake identity, he added.

Erdogan said the ISIS member 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.