The former U.S. envoy for Syria praised Türkiye’s fight against Daesh, which successfully liberated areas in northern Syria and took down terrorist figures in intelligence operations.
James Jeffrey, the former U.S. Special Representative for Syria Engagement and the Special Envoy to the International military intervention against Daesh, hailed Türkiye’s critical role in the anti-Daesh fight in Syria, saying that the Turkish military waged direct war against the terrorists and performed successfully.
Jeffrey was referring to a recent operation by Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT), which eliminated senior Daesh terrorist Abu Hussein al-Qurashi in Syria’s Jandaris.
MIT conducted an operation that lasted four hours on April 29, targeting Al-Qurashi. Al-Qurashi was about to leave the residence he was hiding in, prompting the operation. The intelligence organization's special operations team called on him to surrender, to no avail. They proceeded to knock down the house's outer walls, which also contained a secret underground bunker. When they closed on in, the Daesh leader ignited a suicide vest he was wearing, according to AA. No civilians or members of the operation team were injured in the raid.
Daesh selected al-Qurashi as its leader in November 2022 after the previous Daesh leader was killed in an operation in southern Syria. The terrorist group took over vast swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014 under the leadership of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
But it lost its grip on the territory after campaigns by U.S.-backed forces in Syria and Iraq and Syrian forces backed by Iran, Russia and various paramilitaries.
Jeffrey also argued that Washington needs to address Ankara’s concerns as he claimed that the YPG is part of the joint force against Daesh terrorists in northern Syria.
A U.S.-led coalition force still raids Daesh officials in Syria. In addition, the U.S., under the pretext of this “fight” against Daesh, supplies military equipment and training to PKK/YPG, a terrorist group holed out in northeastern Syria, despite protests by Türkiye, which both terrorist groups target.
