Unidentified drone kills 3 alleged ISIS members in Turkish-occupied zone in Syria
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – On Monday afternoon, an unidentified drone targeted a vehicle north of the town of Ahtimat in northern Aleppo countryside, killing three alleged Islamic State members, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported.
“The targeted persons are believed to be an ISIS commander and two of his companions,” the Observatory claimed.
One of the dead was identified as Shuja’a al-Muhammad, carrying an ID-card issued by the Turkish-backed Council in the Soran district of Azaz.
A few hours ago, a drone believed to belong to the Coalition bombed a vehicle carrying three people near the town of Ahtimat, north or al Bab. One of the dead, Shuja’a al Muhammad, has this far been indentified. The others are badly mangled. pic.twitter.com/MW7mD9D81h
— Woofers (@NotWoofers) July 20, 2020
On June 20, a drone strike in the Turkish-occupied city of al-Bab in northern Syria killed the so-called Islamic State’s former Raqqa governor, Fayz al-Akal, the analytical website South Front reported. Akal was carrying an ID-card issued by the Ahtarin council in northern Aleppo.
Read More: Unidentified drone targets former ISIS leader in Turkish-controlled Afrin: Syria Monitor
Although the United States is often blamed for the attacks, the US-led coalition has previously denied being involved in the drone attacks on Islamic State members in Turkish-held areas.
The Turkish army and Turkish-backed rebels have occupied Syrian territory during Operation Euphrates Shield (2016), Operation Olive Branch (2018), and Operation Peace Spring (2019).
After Turkey took control of these areas, multiple reports have emerged that allege former Islamic State fighters have joined or have hidden in the ranks of Turkish-backed forces.
Manbij Military Council spokesperson Shervan Darwish previously told Kurdistan 24 that Turkish-controlled zones “have a similar potential to be the base of [the] next ISIS.”
Both former Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and the terror group’s so-called spokesperson, Abu Hassan al-Muhajir, were killed in US operations in Syria near the Turkish border in October 2019.
Farhan Al-Askar, a Raqqa Military Council commander, told Kurdistan 24 in December 2019 that prominent Islamic State leaders have returned to their homes in Tal Abyad after Turkey occupied the region in October.
The activist group Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently said in April that regular meetings were “held by leaders of the [Turkish-backed Syrian] National Army with Khaled Al-Akal, a leading member of the ISIS-affiliated Amaq news agency, and Faisal Al-Balo, a former ISIS leader in the town of Tal Abyad, northern Raqqa.”
The pro-Syrian opposition news website Jesrpress reported similar allegations in March.
While Al-Akal was killed in a drone strike on June 20, other Islamic State leaders still reportedly operate in Turkish-held areas.
According to a Human Rights Watch Report (HRW) published in May, Balo used to be in charge of the al-Qadsiyya group but later joined the Islamic State. His group was involved in the executions of civilians and regime soldiers at the beginning of the Syrian crisis, dumping the bodies in al-Hota in the Tal Abyad area, which is now under Turkish-control.
Thomas McClure, a Syria-based researcher at the Rojava Information Center (RIC), told Kurdistan 24 that “scores of ISIS members, commanders, and emirs” are sheltering in regions under Turkish control, despite efforts by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the US-led Coalition to defeat the terror group.
Last year, the RIC documented the presence of 40 former Islamic State members in Turkish-occupied Afrin.
The RIC is now working on another report that will detail the presence of “ISIS members living freely and openly organizing meetings under Turkish protection and on the Turkish payroll in Tal Abyad and Serekaniye.”
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany