Bloomberg news agency, citing senior Turkish officials, reported that the new leader of ISIS was arrested during a recent raid in Istanbul.
Officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said anti-terrorism police and intelligence agents arrested a man they believe leads the group after its former leader was killed in a US operation in Syria in February.
The Turkish news portal Oda TV indicated that the detainee was Abu al-Hasan al-Qurashi, without explaining how the information was obtained.
Officials said today that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been informed of the suspect’s arrest, while sources said the Turkish president is expected to announce the news of the arrest following a meeting of the Turkish National Security Council on Thursday.
Officials also said the leader’s arrest came after extensive police surveillance of the house where he was staying.
