State, Defense Departments Can’t Confirm Turkish Claim to Kill ISIS Leader—but Affirm Continued Fight against ISIS

“It would certainly be welcome news,” if true, the Spokesperson continued, before affirming the U.S. commitment to maintaining the fight against ISIS.
A soldier mans a machine gun mounted on an army vehicle during a Turkish and Russian military patrol in Syria (Photo: AFP)
A soldier mans a machine gun mounted on an army vehicle during a Turkish and Russian military patrol in Syria (Photo: AFP)

WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan 24) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed on Sunday that Turkish forces had succeeded in assassinating the head of ISIS.

No U.S. agency appears able to confirm that. Asked by journalists on Monday about it, State Department Deputy Spokesperson, Vedant Patel, said he could not confirm it. Kurdistan 24 then posed the same question to a Defense Department Spokesperson and received the same answer.

Yet one important point should be noted: both the State and Defense Departments affirmed the U.S. commitment to continuing the fight against the terrorist group.

Erdogan’s Claim

In a televised interview, late on Sunday, Erdogan claimed that Turkish intelligence had “neutralized” the "suspected leader of Daesh [i.e. ISIS], codename Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi.”

Turkish media elaborated on Erdogan’s claim, saying that as Turkish forces closed in on Qurayshi, he killed himself with a suicide vest. 

“A great and strong Turkey is a source of pride for its citizens, and we yearn for it by fighting against terrorist groups,” Erdogan stated, as he described the attack which he said had killed the ISIS leader.

Yet there have long been suspicions that Turkey has supported Arab extremists for its own purposes. 

Reflecting such suspicions, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), America’s main partner in the fight against ISIS in Syria, charged that  al-Qurayshi had operated under the protection of a Turkish-backed group in northern Syria—Ahrar al-Sharqiya—which the U.S. had designated a terrorist group in 2021.

Read More: ISIS leader killed in Turkish operation in Syria: Erdogan

“There is nothing new about this incident except for the end of a mission targeting an ISIS member who had long been protected by Turkish intelligence in Afrin,” the SDF said in a written statement.

This perspective echoes an earlier view of terrorism, in which the U.S. understood major acts of terrorism to involve states–essentially, a form of proxy war. That was how Americans saw the terrorist threat until Bill Clinton became president and shifted the U.S. focus from deterring and punishing terrorist states to arresting and convicting individual perpetrators.

State, Defense Department Responses

Responding to a question about Erdogan’s claim to have killed the ISIS leader, Patel told journalists, “It’s not something I’m able to confirm at this moment.” 

“Obviously, if it is, in fact true, this would be welcome news,” he continued. “The United States has been waging a campaign with our international partners to degrade ISIS.”

“We have had success, and we’ll continue these efforts,” Patel affirmed.

Kurdistan 24 then put a similar question to the Defense Department and received much the same answer from a Pentagon Spokesperson. 

“We are aware of the reports” of Turkey’s claim to have assassinated the ISIS leader, but we are “not in a position to confirm at this time – so we’d refer you to the government of Turkey.” 

“It would certainly be welcome news,” if true, he continued, before affirming the U.S. commitment to maintaining the fight against ISIS.

“We have had success and will continue these efforts,” he stated.

So irrespective of the Turkish claim, whether true or false, it has no effect on the U.S. determination to continue the fight against ISIS.