According to the Turkish president, the leader of Islamic State has been killed by Turkish intelligence in an operation.

The President Recep T. Erdogan announced on Sunday that Abu Hussein al Qurashi had been “neutralised”. This was part of a longer-term operation carried out by the intelligence organization, MIT.

IS has not responded to Mr Erdogan’s claims, which have not been independently checked.

The raid was said to have occurred in the northern Syrian city of Jandaris which is controlled and backed by rebel groups from Turkey.

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This area was also severely affected by the earthquake that struck the border between Turkey and Syria 6 February.

According to a resident, clashes between the rebels against the Syrian National Army began over night on Saturday into Sunday. Then they heard a loud blast.

Later, security forces encircled the area. The Syrian National Army did not comment on the incident.

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When the IS took control of large areas in Iraq and Syria, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, its leader at that time, declared an Islamic caliphate across millions of people who lived there.

After the US-backed campaigns in Syria and Iraq, the state has lost control of the territory.

Al Qurashi became leader of the country in November 2022, after his predecessor Abu Hasan al Hashimi al Qurashi died during an operation in southern Syria.

Since then, the remaining militants of ISIS have been hiding in remote regions of Syria and Iraq. However, it is believed that they are still capable to carry out large-scale hit-and run attacks.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of US and Kurdish forces, are responsible for raids on IS officials in Syria.

Some senior figures were targeted by Turkey when they hid in areas of influence.