Anadolu Agency obtains footage of operation in which Daesh/ISIS ringleader was allegedly killed

By Omer Koparan and Mehmet Burak Karacaoglu

IDLIB, Syria (AA) - Anadolu Agency has obtained a video of an operation carried out by the military opposition in Syria’s province of Daraa in which Daesh/ISIS terror group’s ringleader Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi was allegedly killed.

The footage shows moments of the raid with heavy weapons on the house where the Daesh/ISIS leader was allegedly located.

On Oct. 15, the military opposition in Syria announced that they neutralized a group of Daesh/ISIS members in Daraa.

The opposition group, when contacted by Anadolu Agency, said that they carried out an operation at three different locations in Daraa on Oct. 14-15 and they neutralized about 30 Daesh/ISIS members.

On Wednesday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that a former Daesh/ISIS leader was killed in Syria's Daraa province last month.

Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi was killed in mid-October during a Free Syrian Army operation, the command said, noting "ISIS remains a threat to the region."

"CENTCOM and our partners remain focused on the enduring defeat of ISIS," spokesman Col. Joe Buccino said in a statement.

The Daesh/ISIS terror group earlier confirmed the death of its leader in an audio statement. The death is the second of a Daesh/ISIS leader following a February US raid in northwestern Syria that led to the death of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, the predecessor of the man killed last month.