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Senior Kurdish official found dead at his home in northern Syria

This file photo shows Omar Alloush (C), a senior Kurdish official, standing next to family members of a militant from the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces who was killed in a battle against Daesh in Raqqah, northern Syria. (Photo by AP)

Omar Alloush, a senior figure of the Kurdish forces in northern Syria and a major opponent of Turkey’s military offensive in the region, has been killed.

Kurdish officials said Thursday that Alloush was found dead in his apartment in the city of Tal Abyad, a majority Arab town in northern Syria which was liberated from the Daesh terrorist group in 2015.

Authorities said they had launched an investigation into the death which they said was carried out by those seeking sedition between ethnic groups in northern Syria.

Fawza Yousef, a top Kurdish official, accused Turkey of being behind the assassination, saying Alloush had received numerous threats from Turkey before.

Alloush was a major opponent of Turkey’s ongoing military operation in northern Syria. Ankara says the operation is aimed at pushing back Kurds from east of the Euphrates. The offensive, which began in January 20, has mostly targeted the city of Afrin and surrounding territories which are controlled by the Kurds.

The operation has hardly achieved its objectives while it has been met with fierce criticism from both the United States, which backs Kurdish militants, and the Syrian government, which says the campaign is a violation of its sovereignty.

Alloush was also very close to the US forces operating in northern Syria and west of Iraq as part of an alleged campaign against Daesh Takfiri terrorists.

Yousef said the death was a major blow to efforts to unite Arabs and Kurds in their ongoing fight against militancy in northern Syria.

“Omar Alloush had a key role in forming the Raqqah city council and in developing the concept of coexistence in Tal Abyad, Raqqah and Tabqa,” said Yousef, naming another major town west of Raqqah that was captured from the grip of Daesh.


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