Ümit Yaşar Toprak, who left his family in Bursa province and went to Syria two months ago to join the terrorist organization al-Nusra Front and fight against the Syrian regime, was killed in the first round of air strikes conducted against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters in Syria by the United States and its Arab allies on Tuesday. Todayzaman
According to media reports, Toprak, who went by a codename of Ebu Yusuf el Turki, left his wife and five children in Bursa to join the al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group in Syria about two months ago. The reports, which say Toprak was a high-ranking commander in a unit of al-Nusra, claim that he died early on Wednesday.
His family refused to comment on his alleged death.
Toprak also fought during the war in Afghanistan and was one of seven people detained by the Bursa police in April 2004 on suspicions of planning to assassinate then-US President George W. Bush during the president’s visit to İstanbul to attend a NATO summit. According to media reports, the seven detainees were members of the al-Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Islam terrorist organization, and they were planning to carry out a suicide bomb attack against Bush. Toprak’s brother was also among the seven detainees, media reports said.
The brother was arrested, but Toprak was released pending trial and then acquitted by the court. Speaking to a private Doğan news agency reporter, Toprak said at the time, “We hated and cursed the offensive policies of US and Israel.”
The US and its Arab allies bombed Syria on Tuesday, killing scores of ISIL fighters and members of a separate al-Qaeda-linked group, opening a new front against militants by joining a three-year-old civil war.
US Central Command said on Tuesday that Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates participated in or supported the strikes against ISIL targets around the eastern cities of Raqqa, Deir al-Zor, Al-Hasakah and Al-Bukamal.
” A mix of fighters, bombers, remotely piloted aircraft and Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles conducted 14 strikes against ISIL targets. …The targets included ISIL fighters, training compounds, headquarters and command and control facilities, storage facilities, a finance center, supply trucks and armed vehicles,” US Central Command said in a news release.