ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi was killed in a “successful” Special Operations raid in Syria according to records from President Biden and the Pentagon.
Al-Qurayshi killing – latest 🔴
– UNICEF: At least six children killed in northwest Syria overnight
– Islamic State leader killed as US special forces target suspected jihadists in Syria
-FOLLOW LIVE ⬇️https://t.co/qVthPRj3gI
— The Independent (@Independent) February 3, 2022
Fox News reports:
“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,” Biden said. “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.”
Residents in Atmeh, a village in rebel-held Idlib Province, told the Associated Press that there was a large ground assault, with U.S. forces using loudspeakers asking women and children to leave the area. They described the raid as the biggest operation since the October 2019 killing of Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Omar Saleh, a resident of a nearby house, told the Associated Press he was asleep when his doors and windows started to rattle to the sound of low-flying aircraft at 1:10 a.m. local time. He ran to open the windows with the lights off, and saw three helicopters. He then heard a man, speaking Arabic with an Iraqi or Saudi accent through a loudspeaker, urging women to surrender or leave the area.
“This went on for 45 minutes. There was no response. Then the machine gun fire erupted,” Saleh said. He said the firing continued for two hours, as aircraft circled low over the area.
The raid was carried out in an area close to the border of Turkey. The area is known to be home to multiple top Al Qaeda operatives and other groups fighting President Bashar Assad.
