Muristek
Atmeh (Syria), February 3
The leader of the violent Islamic State group was killed, blowing himself and members of his family up, during an overnight raid carried out by US special operations forces in northwestern Syria, US President Joe Biden said Thursday.
The raid targeted Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, who took over as head of the militant group on October 31, 2019, just days after leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died during a US raid in the same area. Biden said al-Qurayshi died as al-Baghdadi did, by exploding a bomb that killed himself and members of his family, including women and children, as US forces approached.
Want to make world a safer place
Ordered the raid to protect American people and our allies, and make the world a safer place. —Joe Biden, US president
The operation came as IS has been trying for a resurgence, with a series of attacks in the region, including an assault late last month to seize a prison in northeast Syria holding at least 3,000 IS detainees, its boldest operation in years.
First responders reported that 13 people had been killed, including six children and four women.
US special forces landed in helicopters and attacked a house in a rebel-held corner of Syria, clashing for two hours with gunmen, witnesses said. Residents described continuous gunfire and explosions that jolted the town of Atmeh near the Turkish border, an area dotted with camps for internally displaced people from Syria's civil war. — AP