New York Times
ISIS leader killed in US-led Syria raid, Biden says
Rescue workers said women and children were among at least 13 people killed during the raid.
A senior administration official said Mr. al-Qurayshi died at the beginning of the operation when he exploded a bomb that killed him and members of his own family, including women and children.
It was the the biggest US raid in the country since the 2019 operation that killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. There were no US casualties, according to the Pentagon.
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| Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi |
The helicopter-borne assault carried out by about two dozen American commandos, backed by helicopter gunships, armed Reaper drones and attack jets, resembled the raid in October 2019 in which Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the previous leader of the Islamic State, died when he detonated a suicide vest as U.S. forces raided in hide-out not far from where Thursday’s operation took place.
The airborne raid came days after the end of the largest U.S. combat involvement with the Islamic State since the end of the jihadists’ so-called caliphate three years ago.
Little is known about Mr. al-Qurayshi, who succeeded Mr. al-Baghdadi, or ISIS’s top command structure. But analysts said the death of the Islamic State leader was a significant blow to the terrorist group.
The raid targeted a stand-alone, three-story cinder block building surrounded by olive trees.
President Biden’s statement on the ISIS leader’s death.
"Last night at my direction, U.S. military forces in northwest Syria successfully undertook a counterterrorism operation to protect the American people and our allies, and make the world a safer place. Thanks to the skill and bravery of our armed forces, we have taken off the battlefield Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi — the leader of ISIS. All Americans have returned safely from the operation. I will deliver remarks to the American people later this morning.
May God protect our troops"
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