When troops raided terrorist Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraysh’s secret hideout, he decided to kill himself along with women and children in a cowardly move
Syria: Aftermath of US Special Forces raid on Atme
ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi blew himself and his entire family up as American troops built his home in Syria.
When troops raided the terrorist’s secret hideout, he decided to kill himself and everyone with him, including women and children, in a cowardly move.
US President Joe Biden announced the news in a statement posted to the official POTUS Twitter account this afternoon.
“Last night, at my direction, US forces successfully conducted a counter-terrorism operation,” the tweet said.
“Thanks to the bravery of our armed forces, we removed Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi – the leader of ISIS – from the battlefield.”
“I will be making comments on this operation this morning,” followed another tweet.
US special forces were reportedly conducting what the Pentagon called a successful anti-terrorist mission earlier today in northwestern Syria, targeting the al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadist.
A senior US government official confirmed that al-Quraishi was killed in the raid.
“Early on in the operation, the terrorist target detonated a bomb that killed him and members of his own family, including women and children,” the administrator said.
After the assassination of IS founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in October 2019, the group named al-Quraishi, an Iraqi who was once in US custody, as his successor.
“While we are still evaluating the results of this operation, this appears to be the same cowardly terrorist tactic we saw in the 2019 operation that eliminated al-Baghdadi,” the official said.
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Image:
Agency Anadolu via Getty Images)
A senior US official said the New York Times that Mr al-Qurayshi died early in the operation when he detonated a bomb that killed him and members of his own family, including women and children.
Biden planned to make comments on the operation in Syria later today, the White House said.
Syrian rescue workers said at least 13 people, including six children and four women, were killed in clashes and explosions that erupted after the raid began.
US forces were believed to be targeting a house in the Atmeh area near the Turkish border.
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby released a statement about the attack, in which he explained that US special forces conducted a counter-terrorism mission in northwestern Syria tonight.
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Agency Anadolu via Getty Images)
“The mission was successful,” he said.
“There were no US casualties. More information will be provided as it becomes available.”
Local residents said helicopters landed and heavy gunfire and explosions were heard during the raid, which began around midnight.
US forces used loudspeakers to warn women and children to leave the area, they said.
Video taken by a local resident showed the bodies of two apparently lifeless children and a man in the rubble of a local building.
Other footage showed emergency workers loading what appeared to be a small body wrapped in white plastic sheeting into an ambulance. More body bags could be seen at the back of the vehicle.
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Getty Images)
Using headlamps in the dark, workers searched the damaged building for debris from lumps of concrete, children’s stuffed animals and women’s clothing.
A kitchen was blackened and burned, windows were hanging out of their frames, and plastic utensils were half-melted.
A Syrian who witnessed the attack said he walked out of his house after midnight and saw planes in the sky.
“Ten minutes later we heard screams. ‘Surrender, the house is surrounded,'” he said.
“We heard Fire. There was fire from planes and machine guns.”
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Image:
Agency Anadolu via Getty Images)
Another witness said he saw several bodies at the scene. “There was blood everywhere,” he said.
He added that a US helicopter appears to have suffered a mechanical failure and was blown up by US forces.
A rebel official, who asked not to be named, said the jihadist who was the apparent target of the raid was with his family at the time.
Witnesses said the raid ended with planes believed to be helicopters exiting the site, but unidentified reconnaissance planes still hovered in the area.
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