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On the street where the head of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, declared his caliphate in 2014, in the old city of Mosul, Iraq, on October 27, 2019. REUTERS / Abdullah Rashid

In announcing the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdad, Donald Trump thanked Turkey among the countries that made it possible to carry out the operation against the leader of the Islamic State group in northwestern Syria. Earlier, Ankara said it had been in "coordination" with the United States before the operation. But the vagueness remains on the nature of Turkish involvement.

With our correspondent in Istanbul, Anne Andlauer

Donald Trump's thanks will certainly have satisfied the authorities in Ankara, who were in a rather uncomfortable position since the first rumors about the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The village in Idleb Province where the head of the Islamic State group is believed to have been killed by the US military is only a few kilometers from the Turkish border.

In referring to "exchanges of information" and "coordination" with the United States prior to the operation, Turkey suggests that it played a role, just as it is justified by the presence of one of the most wanted terrorists in the world in its immediate vicinity.

Official sources quoted in the Turkish press claim that Ankara knew about it upstream, which Donald Trump himself confirmed , adding that Turkey had allowed US commandos to fly over its territory. But Turkish sources go further, citing a "close" collaboration between the military authorities of both countries.

If Ankara maintains the vagueness, American sources quoted by the CNN chain are on the other hand categorical: Turkey would have played "no role". Washington would have simply informed Ankara that an operation was imminent because of its proximity to the Turkish border.