Erdogan Calls Killing Of Baghdadi 'Turning Point' In Joint Counterterrorist Fight

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th October, 2019) The elimination of Abu Bakr Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State terrorist organization (IS, ISIS, banned in Russia), by the US air force in Syria is a "turning point" in the fight against terrorism, and Turkey is determined to continue contributing to it, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, US President Donald Trump announced having hunted down Baghdadi in Syria's Idlib and thanked Russia, Iraq, Syria and Turkey for their assistance in the course of the operation. Russia, in particular, "treated [the US military] great" and opened the Syrian airspace under its control for the US fleet of helicopters to access Baghdadi, the US president claimed.

"The killing of Daesh's [IS] ringleader marks a turning point in our joint fight against terrorism.

Turkey will continue to support anti-terror efforts � as it has done in the past. Having paid the dearest price in the fight against Daesh, PKK/YPG [Kurdistan Workers' Party and Kurdish People's Protection Units], and other terrorist organizations, Turkey welcomes this development. I am confident that a decisive struggle against terrorism, in line with the spirit of alliance, will bring peace to all of humanity," Erdogan posted on Twitter.

The terrorist number one made his first media appearance in 2014 when the ISIS officially re-branded itself into the IS and declared itself a caliphate under Baghdadi's leadership. Since then, he has made headlines multiple times with claims that he had been killed.