Washington: United States President Joe Biden has said the leader of ISIL (ISIS) has been “taken off the battlefield” following an overnight raid in Syria that also killed six children and four women
A senior US administration official told reporters ISIL leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi was killed in the raid. The official said he blew himself up during the operation. Biden said he would address nation about the raid at 9:30 AM ET (1430GMT) on Thursday.
“Last night at my direction, US military forces in the northwest Syria successfully undertook a counterterrorism operation to protect the American people and our Allies, and make the world a safer place,” Biden said in the statement.
“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,” Biden said. Meanwhile, the senior US official said that 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.
The Pentagon said there no US casualties in the raid.
ISIS named al-Qurayshi as its head in 2019 after confirming the death of former leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was killed by US special forces days earlier. –Agencies
