Ümit Yaşar Toprak (Abu Yousef al-Turki)

Ümit Yaşar Toprak, more commonly known as “Abu Yousef al-Turki,” was an alleged commander for al-Qaeda’s Syrian proxy, Jabhat al-Nusra (the Nusra Front) who trained the group’s fighters.Thomas Joscelyn, “US Airstrikes Target Al Nusra Front, Islamic State in Syria,” The Long War Journal, September 23, 2014, http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/09/jihadists_claim_al_n.php.The Turkish publication Today’s Zaman wrote that Toprak was detained in 2004 on suspicion of planning to assassinate then-U.S. President George W. Bush at the NATO summit in Istanbul.“Turkish Jihadist Killed During Anti-ISIL Air Strikes in Syria,” Today’s Zaman, September 24, 2014, http://www.todayszaman.com/latest-news_turkish-jihadist-killed-during-anti-isil-air-strikes-in-syria_359663.html. According to discoveries by Dubai-based reporter Jenan Moussa,Toprak was the leader of “the Wolf Unit of Jabhat al-Nusra,” the group that Moussa believes is the same as the one U.S. officials refer to as Khorasan.Jenan Moussa, “Exclusive: Documents Show that the Khorasan Group Is the Same Group as Wolf’s Nusra,” Al Aan TV, October 1, 2014, http://www.alaan.tv/news/world-news/114998/khorassan-group-is-in-fact-the-wolf-unit-of-nusra-front-documents-show.

Toprak was reportedly killed in the U.S. airstrikes conducted on September 22, 2014.Zoe Mintz, “Al-Nusra Front Leader, Abu Yousef al-Turki, Killed in Syria Airstrikes: Group Says,” International Business Times, September 23, 2014, http://www.ibtimes.com/al-nusra-front-leader-abu-yousef-al-turki-killed-syria-airstrikes-group-says-1693907.

Also Known As

  • Abu Yousef al-Turki
  • Abu Yusuf al-Turki

Extremist entity
Khorasan
Type(s) of Organization:
Non-state actor, terrorist, transnational, violent
Ideologies and Affiliations:
Islamist, Salafist, jihadist, Sunni
Position(s):
Member

Extremist entity
Jabhat al-Nusra (the al-Nusra Front)
Read Threat Report
Type(s) of Organization:
Insurgent, non-state actor, terrorist, transnational, violent
Ideologies and Affiliations:
Al-Qaeda and affiliated groups, Islamist, jihadist, Qutbist, Salafist, Sunni
Position(s):
Sniper; Purported leader of “the Wolf Unit of Jabhat al-Nusra”

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Fact:

On April 3, 2017, the day Vladimir Putin was due to visit the city, a suicide bombing was carried out in the St. Petersburg metro, killing 15 people and injuring 64. An al-Qaeda affiliate, Imam Shamil Battalion, claimed responsibility. 

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