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A6 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 2 May 2023
Erdogan says Turkish forces killed IS chief in Syria

By SUZAN FRASER and during New Year celebra-
ABBY SEWELL tions. Abu Hussein al-Quray-
Associated Press shi was named IS leader
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — after its previous chief was
The leader of the Islamic killed in October. He took
State group was killed in over at a time when IS had
an operation by Turkish in- long lost control of the terri-
telligence teams in north- tory it once held in Iraq and
ern Syria, Turkish President Syria. However, IS has been
Recep Tayyip Erdogan an- been trying to rise again,
nounced. Turkey’s state with sleeper cells carrying
media said the IS leader out deadly attacks in both
blew himself up to avoid countries.
capture. Islamic State founder Abu
Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Bakr al-Baghdadi was hunt-
TRT Turk television in an in- ed down by U.S. forces in
terview late Sunday that a raid in northwest Syria in
the IS leader known as Abu October 2019. His succes-
Hussein al-Qurayshi died sor, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi
on Saturday, following a al-Qurayshi, was killed in a
lengthy pursuit by the Turk- similar raid in February 2022.
ish intelligence agency, He was followed by Abu
MIT. al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-
“We will continue our strug- Turkish President and People’s Alliance’s presidential candidate Recep Tayyip Erdogan gestures Qurayshi, who according
gle against terrorist orga- to supporters during an election campaign rally in Ankara, Sunday, April 30, 2023 to the U.S. military was killed
Associated Press
nizations,” Erdogan said in mid-October in an op-
in the interview, without military police member ish agents closed in on him had been frequently on the eration by Syrian rebels in
elaborating. The Islamic said. He spoke on condition after afour-hour operation, move. Syria’s southern province
State group has so far not of anonymity because he al-Qurayshi detonated his Turkey has conducted nu- of Daraa, after which the
confirmed the death of its was not authorized to com- suicide vest. The IS leader merous operations against latest leader took over,
leader. ment to the media. was at a house with an un- IS militants and Kurdish Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi.
A member of the Turkish- The Syrian Observatory for derground bunker in the rebels in Syria’s border ar- None of the al-Qurayshis
backed Syrian opposition Human Rights, a Britain- Jinderes region and did not eas. Turkey controls large are believed to be re-
forces’ military police told based opposition war mon- respond to calls for him to swaths of territory in north- lated. Al-Qurayshi is not
The Associated Press that itor, said Turkish drones flew surrender, the agency said, ern Syria, following several their real name but comes
the MIT clashed with IS over the area and Turkish- quoting unnamed security land incursions to drive from Quraish, the name of
militants on a farm in the backed Syrian opposition officials. Kurdish groups away from the tribe to which Islam’s
village of Miska in Aleppo groups, alerted by Ankara, After Turkish agents broke the border. Prophet Muhammad be-
province late Friday night. closed off roads leading to into the building, al-Quray- IS has carried out a string of longed. IS claims its lead-
As the fighting intensified, the where the clashes were shi blew himself up realiz- deadly attacks in Turkey, in- ers hail from this tribe and
al-Qurayshi, who was hid- taking place. ing he would be caught, cluding a shooting at an Is- “al-Qurayshi” serves as part
ing in a building on the Turkey’s state-run Anadolu the report said. Anadolu tanbul night club on Jan. 1, of an IS leader’s nom de
farm, blew himself up, the Agency said as the Turk- added that al-Qurayshi 2017 which killed 39 people guerre.q

U.N. agency suspends food aid to Ethiopia’s Tigray amid theft

United Nations food relief food misappropriation, one your attention by your staff,
agency has suspended of the four humanitarian beneficiaries or local au-
aid deliveries to Ethiopia’s workers told AP. Three other thorities.”
northern Tigray region aid workers confirmed this At the time, two aid workers
amid an internal investiga- information. They all insist- told AP that the stolen sup-
tion into the theft of food ed on anonymity because plies included enough food
meant for hungry people, they were not authorized to to feed 100,000 people.
according to four humani- speak to a journalist on this The food was discovered
tarian workers. matter. missing from a warehouse
The World Food Program Last month, AP reported in the Tigray city of Sheraro.
is responsible for deliver- that the WFP was investi- It was not clear who was re-
ing food from the U.N. and gating cases of food misap- sponsible for the theft.
other partners to Tigray, propriation and diversion Tigray’s new interim presi-
the center of a devastat- in Ethiopia, where a total dent, Getachew Reda, said
ing two-year civil war that of 20 million people need last month he discussed
ended with a ceasefire in humanitarian help due to “the growing challenge of
November. drought and conflict. diversion & sale of food aid
More than 5 million of the A letter sent by the WFP’s meant for the needy” with
region’s 6 million people Ethiopia director on April 5 senior WFP officials during a
A worker walks next to a pile of sacks of food earmarked for rely on aid. asked humanitarian part- visit by the agency to Me-
the Tigray and Afar regions in a warehouse of the World Food
Programme (WFP) in Semera, the regional capital for the Afar WFP informed its humani- ners to share “any informa- kele, the regional capital.
region, in Semera, Ethiopia, Feb. 21, 2022. tarian partners on April 20 tion or cases of food mis- A spokesperson for the WFP
Associated Press that it was temporarily sus- use, misappropriation or di- in Ethiopia did not immedi-
pending deliveries of food version that you are aware ately respond to a request
Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The to Tigray amid reports of of or that are brought to for comment.q