In 2011, the discovery of Osama bin Laden’s hideout in Abbottabad raised questions about Pakistan’s knowledge of his whereabouts. Today it is hardly controversial to suggest that at least some elements in the Pakistani government must have been aware of bin Laden’s location.
Last week’s
discovery of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a region of Syria controlled by
Turkey inevitably raises similar questions about Ankara’s role in the
Syrian conflict and its relationship with the Islamic State.
The
self-proclaimed caliph of the Islamic State was found hiding in Barisha,
a village in the Syrian province of Idlib, which is located just two
miles from the Turkish border. The region that surrounds Barisha is
under the control of Turkey and can most accurately be described as a
Turkish protectorate inside Syria. The area north of Barisha has been
under Turkish control since August of 2016, when Ankara launched
Operation Euphrates Shield, a cross-border operation conducted by the
Turkish Armed Forces in cooperation with Turkish-baked militias in
Syria. In early 2018, Turkish and pro-Turkish forces extended their
territorial control further south, capturing Barisha and all surrounding
regions. They remain in control of the area to this day.
Turkish-occupied northern Syria is often described
as a “proto-state”. It is governed by a collection of local councils of
Turkmens and Arabs, with some Kurds and Yazidis also present. These
councils elect representatives to the self-proclaimed Syrian Interim
Government, which was formed in Turkey by Turkish-backed Syrian exiles
and is currently headquartered in Azaz, an Arab-majority city of 30,000
that is under direct Turkish military control. Azaz is also the
headquarters of the Turkish-backed “Free Police”, a gendarmerie-style
militia that is funded, trained and equipped by the Turkish government.
In addition to
the Turkish troops, the region is controlled by the Turkish-funded
Syrian National Army. The 25,000 troops of the SNA —which is jokingly
referred to by the locals as the “Turkish Syrian National Army”— operate
completely under Turkish command. A substantial portion of the SNA’s
force consists of former Islamic State fighters who switched their
allegiance to the SNA once they saw the writing on the wall. Others are
former members of the group that used to call itself Jabhat al-Nusra, an
al-Qaeda affiliate that has become the most powerful Salafi-jihadist
force in Syria after the demise of the Islamic State.
Turkish-occupied
northern Syria is also the base of Ahrar al-Sham, a Salafi-jihadist
group consisting of over 20,000 fighters, which is not officially
aligned with al-Qaeda, but has similar goals. Since at least 2017, Ahrar
al-Sham has effectively operated as a Turkish proxy militia and is in
charge of dozens of check points and observation posts throughout the
region. Lastly, the area is home to Hurras al-Din, yet another
Salafi-jihadist group that is affiliated with al-Qaeda —though its
leaders deny it. The group is able to operate in Turkish-controlled
areas of Syria with suspicious ease. It was this group, Hurras al-Din,
that sheltered al-Baghdadi in Barisha in return for cash.
Given Turkey’s
military and political control of Idlib province, the question arises
of how the world’s most high-profile terrorist leader was able to enter
the region and receive protection from a militia that operates there
under the watchful eye of the Turkish military. The New York Times reports
that al-Baghdadi had been living in Barisha for several months before
last week’s raid, and that Washington had been aware of his hideout
location since the summer. Was Turkish intelligence also aware of the
Islamic State leader’s whereabouts? If not, how could that be? If yes,
why did it take a Kurdish spy, handled by Syrian Kurdish intelligence,
to locate him and provide information to the Untited States? More
importantly, what exactly is the relationship between Turkey and the
al-Qaeda-linked Islamists who seem to operate freely in Idlib and
provide protection to senior Islamic State officials in exchange for
cash?
There are
clearly more questions than answers here. If the United States is
serious about combating Islamist extremism in the Middle East, it must
press Ankara on these questions as a matter of urgency.
fecha |
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