A close aide of killed leader of ISIL Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was captured in Istanbul during a joint operation by the Turkish police and intelligence agency, media reported on Sunday. 

The Afghan national, identified by the code name "Basim," was detained on Wednesday, local media said citing Istanbul police.

The suspect was thought to be the chief of ISIL's military wing after he arrived in Turkey with a fake passport. He had been involved in helping hide al-Baghdadi in Syria's Idlib Province in 2019.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in October 2019 during an overnight U.S. raid in Syria.

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Turkey has recently intensified raids against ISIL members in the country. 

The group has been blamed for a spate of deadly attacks in Turkey since 2015. In 2017, 39 people were killed in Istanbul in an attack carried by it.

(With input from Xinhua)