ANKARA: Turkey on Sunday said there was “coordination” between Ankara andWashington before the operation which US media reports said targeted andkilled Daesh chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
“Prior to the US Operation in Idlib Province of Syria last night,information exchange and coordination between the military authorities ofboth countries took place,” the Turkish defence ministry said in a tweet.
It did not give details.
The elusive chief of Daesh was believed to be dead after a US military raidin the Idlib region, US media reported earlier on Sunday.
*Also read: Daesh head Baghdadi believed dead after US strike in Syrialink*
The helicopters targeted a home and a car outside the village of Barisha,the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, in the operationwhich killed nine people.
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“To the best of my knowledge, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi arrived at this location48 hours prior to the raid. We have been in close coordination with therelevant parties,” a senior Turkish official told AFP.
“The Turkish military did have advance knowledge of last night’s raid,” theofficial said, while stating that “I can neither confirm nor deny that anyintelligence was shared to facilitate last night’s operation.”
The official added: “We will continue to coordinate our actions on theground.” -APP/AFP
