Turkey neutralizes ISIS leader in Syria

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed on Saturday that Turkey eliminated Abu Hussein Al-Qurayshi Al-Qurayshi, the alleged commander of the Daesh/ISIS terrorist group, during an operation in Syria.

"The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) had been following the so-called leader of Daesh, code-named Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi, for a long time," Erdogan said.

"This is the first time I am telling this here. This person was neutralized in an operation carried out by the MIT yesterday," Erdogan divulged during a TV interview with Turkish broadcaster TRT Turk on Sunday.

He added that Turkey would "continue our struggle with terrorist organizations without any discrimination."

Turkey was one of the first countries to name Daesh/ISIS a terrorist organization in 2013.

Since then, the terror organization has targeted the country several times, killing over 300 people and injuring hundreds more in at least ten suicide bombings, seven bomb attacks, and four armed assaults.

Read more: Syria stresses ending Turkish occupation, foreign interference

Racism spreading in West like 'cancer'

Erdogan also stated that racism, Islamophobia, and discrimination were spreading in the West "like cancer cells," adding that Western nations have so far shown no effort to confront this. He also stressed that hate speech and assaults against Muslims and mosques abroad are also becoming increasingly common.

"Vile acts by racist groups, such as arson against mosques and tearing up the holy Quran, have also increased...We take every step to ensure the safety of life and property of our citizens," Erdogan stated.

In recent months, Racist people or organizations in Northern Europe and the Nordic nations have committed or attempted to commit incidents of Quran burning.

He also stated that the killings committed by the neo-Nazi National Socialist Underground (NSU) organization will be investigated. "If deemed necessary, we have to file all kinds of suits in international courts, from material to moral compensation, to obtain results,” he continued.

Between 2000 and 2007, the far-right terrorist NSU murdered eight Turkish immigrants, a Greek citizen, and a German policewoman, but the cases have remained unresolved to this day.