RAID IN SYRIA HAS TAKEN ISIL LEADER AL-QURAYSHI ‘OFF THE BATTLEFIELD’, SAYS BIDEN

Thu 03 February 2022:

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 the operation 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.

Biden says that the leader of ISIL has been ‘removed from the battlefield’ after a US operation in Syria’s Idlib. At least thirteen people, including six children, were killed in the raid.

Al Jazeera’s Aladeein Al Youssef reports from the scene. pic.twitter.com/AV7LGh2pBs

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) February 3, 2022

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.

Al-Qurayshi took over leadership of the role at a time when ISIL was particularly beleagured, largely reduced to scattered sleeper cells after being territorially defeated in Syria months later.

However, there has been recent fighting between the group and US backed the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), including an attempt in January by ISIL to break out thousands of followers from a prison in Hasaka.

Footage shows the location of the air landing operation of the American forces after midnight in #Atma town, north of rural #Idlib. Our team continues the search operations and secures the area to protect the civilians.#WhiteHelmets pic.twitter.com/kbYvGlewib

— The White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) February 3, 2022

The SDF has warned of a possible resurgance of the group.

The overnight raid in Atmeh, a densely populated town in rebel-held Idlib province near the Turkish border, left at least 13 people dead, including seven children and three women

Residents said helicopters had hovered over the building for more than two hours before the attack. The US special forces then carried out a landing operation and stormed the house.

US-led coalition operations against remnants of ISIL (ISIS) sleeper cells are more frequent in northeastern Syria. The US military has also used drones to kill top al-Qaeda operatives in northern Syria.

NEWS AGENCIES

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent