New ISIS Leader Allegedly Arrested in Istanbul

Turkish soldiers during a raid against ISIS members in Istanbul. (Turkish Interior Ministry)
Turkish soldiers during a raid against ISIS members in Istanbul. (Turkish Interior Ministry)
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New ISIS Leader Allegedly Arrested in Istanbul

Turkish soldiers during a raid against ISIS members in Istanbul. (Turkish Interior Ministry)
Turkish soldiers during a raid against ISIS members in Istanbul. (Turkish Interior Ministry)

The new leader of the ISIS terrorist group was allegedly arrested in the Turkish city of Istanbul, media reports said on Thursday.

Zeid al-Iraqi, known as Abu al-Hassan al-Hashemi al-Qurayshi, was detained days ago in the city.

He assumed the leadership of the terror organization after his predecessor, Abu Ibrahim al-Qurayshi, blew himself up in an American raid in Syria in February.

Turkey's OdaTV confirmed the arrest without providing details.

It said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will make an announcement about the arrest.

Senior Turkish officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the arrest was made during a recent raid in Istanbul, reported Bloomberg.

They said counter-terrorism police and security intelligence raided al-Qurayshi's house after long surveillance.

No statement has been made by the Interior Ministry or any official.

Qurayshi was announced as the new leader of ISIS weeks after the killing of his predecessor.



North Korean Troops Experience Mass Casualties on Ukraine Front Lines, White House Says

A Ukrainian soldier reflected in a car mirror looks on as a Swedish-made Archer Howitzer operated by Ukrainian members of the 45th Artillery Brigade fires towards Russian positions, in the Donetsk region, on January 20, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
A Ukrainian soldier reflected in a car mirror looks on as a Swedish-made Archer Howitzer operated by Ukrainian members of the 45th Artillery Brigade fires towards Russian positions, in the Donetsk region, on January 20, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
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North Korean Troops Experience Mass Casualties on Ukraine Front Lines, White House Says

A Ukrainian soldier reflected in a car mirror looks on as a Swedish-made Archer Howitzer operated by Ukrainian members of the 45th Artillery Brigade fires towards Russian positions, in the Donetsk region, on January 20, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
A Ukrainian soldier reflected in a car mirror looks on as a Swedish-made Archer Howitzer operated by Ukrainian members of the 45th Artillery Brigade fires towards Russian positions, in the Donetsk region, on January 20, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)

North Korean forces are experiencing mass casualties on the front lines of Russia's war against Ukraine, with a thousand of their troops killed or wounded in the last week alone in the Kursk region of Russia, White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Friday.

The number far exceeds the figure US officials have previously provided.

"It is clear that Russian and North Korean military leaders are treating these troops as expendable and ordering them on hopeless assaults against Ukrainian defenses," Kirby said, describing the North Korean troops' offensive as "massed, dismounted assaults."

The North Korean and Russian missions to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Kirby said President Joe Biden would likely approve another security assistance package for Ukraine in coming days. Earlier this week, Biden condemned Russia's Christmas Day attacks on Ukraine's energy system and some of its cities and asked the Defense Department to continue its surge of weapons to Ukraine.

On Dec. 17, a US military official said North Korea had suffered several hundred casualties while fighting against Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk region.

Asked about what ranks the North Korean casualties included, the military official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said it was from lower-level troops to "very near to the top."

On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that more than 3,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed and wounded in Russia's Kursk region.