Isil chief captured hiding among refugees in Turkey
Lieutenant of fugitive leader arrested, as Europol carries out separate seizure of group’s computer servers
A LIEUTENANT of Abu Bakr al-baghdadi, the fugitive leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), has been arrested in Turkey while trying to hide among refugees fleeing to Europe, according to Turkish authorities. Kasir al-haddawi, an emir in Deir Ezzor, the eastern Syrian province, was captured by Turkish security forces in the western city of Izmir in a raid yesterday morning. Three other Isil operatives were arrested with him, Turkish media reported.
The men were reportedly hiding among a group of Syrian refugees planning to get to Greece by boat. Previous Isil attackers have entered Europe posing as refugees and gone on to carry out attacks. Meanwhile, the EU’S joint police agency seized servers used to spread Isil propaganda and gathered digital evidence in an operation that “punched a big hole” in the jihadists’ media network.
Haddawi, who was identified in court papers only by the initials KEH, was close to Baghdadi’s inner circle, Turkish authorities said.
The Isil leader remains at large even as his so-called caliphate has crumbled in Syria and Iraq. He may have been injured in an air strike and is believed to be hiding in eastern Syria close to the Iraqi border. Turkish and Western intelligence agencies will be hopeful that Haddawi might be able to provide information on Baghdadi’s whereabouts.
Hassan Hassan, senior fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, described Haddawi as a “mid-level leader” in the jihadist group.
Anadalou, Turkey’s state news agency, said Haddawi was responsible for the massacre of 700 civilians in Deir Ezzor during his time as emir. The agency appeared to be referring to the killing of hundreds of members of the Shaitat, a Sunni tribe that rose up against Isil rule in 2014.
Haddawi is also the brother-in-law of a relative of Saddam al-jamal, a Syrian fighter who deserted the Free Syrian Army and joined Isil in 2013.
Jamal went on to become a senior Isil leader and was later involved in producing the jihadists’ execution videos. Jamal was reportedly captured by Western-backed Kurdish forces in October as they advanced through the Euphrates River valley. Europol said an operation was conducted this week by European countries including Britain, as well as the US, which may identify administrators who help run Isil propaganda, and possibly lead to the jihadists’ supporters in Europe and elsewhere.
On Wednesday and Thursday, police seized Isil servers in the Netherlands, Canada, and the US, as well as digital evidence in other countries. British counter-terrorism investigators “took the lead in the referral of processing of top-level domain registrars abused by” Isil, Europol said yesterday.