Arrest of High-ranking ISIS leader precipitates attack of Turkish army 

Following the official confirmation, issued by the Asayish units, that a high-ranking ISIS leader had been killed on November 7, 2023, skirmishes erupted in the town of Tal Koçer/ Al-Yaarubiyah.

In fact, in less than one hour, after the declaration of the arrest, the Turkish army launched an attack on the headquarters of the Asayish units, situated closely to the village of Kafr Spi.

The Asayish units had priority enunciated the following statement: “After carrying out intensive operations, serving the purpose of persecuting terrorist cells, our security forces succeeded in achieving concrete information on the purported whereabouts of members of a terrorist unit”.

The successful arrest of a high-ranking ISIS leader was subsequently conducted on the night of the 7th November.

The response of the Turkish army followed immediately by targeting the headquarters of the Asayish unit with a drone. According to local sources, no one was physically harmed, the drone however, caused severe material damage.

In fact, Turkish attacks on North and East Syria have become ubiquitous. Since October 5, 2023, the Turkish army launched 322 attacks on the respective region, causing the damage of 80 percent of the areas’ whole infrastructure and killing more than 60 people.

Thus, the increasing escalation further reinforces existing tensions and contributes to the region’s incremental destabilization.