ISIS leader killed in US counterterrorism operation in Syria

Middle East, News February 4, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

U.S. President Joe Biden said in a briefing that the global leader of ISIS (ISIL) Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, also known as Hajji Abdullah was killed in an overnight raid conducted by the U.S. forces in Syria.

The U.S. president said, “Our team is still compiling their report, but we do know that as our troops approached to capture the terrorist, in a final act of desperate cowardice, he — with no regard to the lives of his own family or others in the building, he chose to blow himself up — not just with a vest, but to blow up that third floor rather than face justice for the crimes he has committed, taking several members of his family with him.”

Biden emphasized that “Our forces carried out the operation with their signature preparation and precision, and I directed the Department of Defense to take every precaution possible to minimize civilian casualties.”

However, according to residents and rescue workers, at least 13 people, including six children and four women, have been killed during the U.S. raid in northwestern Syria near Turkey’s border.

“U.S. special forces landed in helicopters and assaulted a house in a rebel-held corner of Syria, clashing for two hours with gunmen,” Reuters news agency cited a witness. Before and during the operation, the U.S. forces used loudspeakers to warn women and children to leave the area, the news agency reported.

*^{A damaged room inside the house after the U.S. raid in the Syrian village of Atmeh. (Image Credit: Ghaith Alsayed/AP)}*

According to the senior U.S. official, at least some of the civilian deaths were the result of al-Qurayshi detonating a bomb. “At the beginning of the operation, the terrorist target exploded a bomb that killed him and members of his own family, including women and children,” the official said.

“This operation is consistent with the President’s commitment to take out threats to the American people wherever they are and in any manner that does not require large deployments of U.S. forces,” the senior administration official added.

The White House also released a photo of President Biden, Vice President Harris, and members of the President’s national security team observing the counterterrorism operation responsible for removing Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi from the battlefield, on February 3.

*^{President Biden, Vice President Harris, and members of the President’s national security team observing the counterterrorism operation. (Image Credit: @WhiteHouse/Twitter)}*

“I want to commend our dedicated intelligence community, the Department of Defense, and members of our national security team throughout the government whose meticulous and tireless work over the course of many months ensured that this mission succeeded,” Biden said in a statement.

“This operation is testament to America’s reach and capability to take out terrorist threats no matter where they try to hide anywhere in the world,” he added.

According to the White House release, “Hajji Abdullah oversaw the spread of ISIS-affiliated terrorist groups around the world after savaging communities and murdering innocents. He was responsible for the recent brutal attack on a prison in northeast Syria holding ISIS fighters.”

“He [Abdullah] took over as the leader of ISIS in 2019 after the United States counterterrorism operation killed al-Baghdadi. Since then, ISIS has directed terrorist operations targeting Americans, our Allies and our partners, and countless civilians in the Middle East, Africa, and in South Asia,” Biden said.