US raid raises questions on Turkey’s commitment vs. Islamic State
The Islamic State leader’s hideout a stone’s throw away from Turkey's border and Syrian Democratic Forces involvement in the raid have raised fresh questions over Ankara’s fight against the Islamic State.
The leader of the Islamic State, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, was killed in a Syrian hideout close to the Turkish border, just like his predecessor Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, casting doubt over Ankara’s assertions of its decisive struggle against the radical group.
Like his predecessor, al-Qurayshi was hiding in a house near the northern Syrian town of Atmeh, a stone’s throw from the border across the Turkish province of Hatay and only a few hundred meters from Turkey’s Bukulmez military outpost, which overlooks the region. Washington’s underscoring of the Syrian Democratic Force’s role in the raid came atop, dealing another blow to Ankara.
