According to the U.S., Thursday’s raid on a Syria hideout by American forces saw the leader of Islamic State group blow himself up with his family members. This is the second time in three year that the United States has retaken a leader of this violent group that has been waging a war in the region with deadly attacks.
The overnight raid of American special operations forces by President Joe Biden was announced by the United States. Officials called it a “significant blow to radical militant organization.”
At its peak, the IS group controlled over 40,000 miles from Syria to Iraq and ruled more than 8 million people. The IS group’s attacks in the region included an attack last month on a northeast Syria prison that held at least 3,000 IS prisoners.
The raid targeted Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshiwho assumed the role of head of the group just days after Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a U.S. raid. Al-Qurayshi was not a household name like his predecessor. He was a secretive man and presided over a much smaller version of the group. He didn’t even appear in public.
Biden claimed that al-Qurayshi was killed by al-Baghdadi. He exploded a bomb that killed him and his family members, including children and women, as U.S forces approached.
Biden stated at the White House that “thanks to the bravery and courage of our troops, this terrible terrorist leader is no longer.” Al-Qurayshi was responsible for the prison attack and genocide against Yazidi Iraqis in 2014.
Witnesses said that about 50 U.S. special forces flew in helicopters to attack a house in rebel-held Syria. They clashed for nearly two hours with gunmen. Residents reported continuous gunfire and explosions that rattled Atmeh, a town dotted with camps for internally-displaced Syrians near the Turkish border.
Biden stated that he instructed U.S. forces “to take every precaution possible to minimize civilian casualties,” which is why they didn’t conduct an airstrike at the home.
First responders reported 13 deaths, including six children and four mothers.
John Kirby, Pentagon Press Secretary, stated that the U.S. forces managed to evacuate 10 people from their building. One man and a woman were there along with four children and four children on the first floor. Four children were on the second floor. Al-Qurayshi also killed his wife, and two of their children when he detonated that bomb. Kirby stated that U.S. officials were trying to determine if civilians died as a result of American actions.
Kirby stated that there were no U.S. casualties. He said that the U.S. forces collected fingerprints and DNA to confirm al-Qurayshi’s death.
According to an official, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris watched a live feed from the White House Situation Room. A tabletop model of the three-floor house was brought to the high security room in December.
After setbacks elsewhere, including the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, allies and adversaries had concluded that U.S. global power was waning, the raid was a major military victory for the United States.
The house was surrounded by olive trees and fields outside Atmeh. Its top floor was shattered, and blood was sprayed inside. A journalist working for The Associated Press and several residents claimed that they saw bodies scattered around the site. Residents spoke anonymously out of fear of reprisals.
Idlib is largely ruled by Turkish-backed fighters, but it is also a stronghold for al-Qaida and home to many of its top operatives. The region has also been home to extremists of the rival IS group and other militants.
Jamil El-Deddo, a local refugee camp resident, said that the first moments were frightening. “No one knew what was going on.” “We were concerned it might be a Syrian aircraft. This brought back memories from barrel bombs that were dropped on us,” Jamil el-Deddo said, referring to explosives-filled containers used against opposition forces by President Bashar al-Assad during the conflict in Syria.
The top floor of this low house was almost destroyed. White bricks tumbled to the ground below.
One bedroom was ruined and contained a wooden crib for a child and a doll of a rabbit. A blue plastic baby swing hung from one wall. The house contained a number of religious books, including a biography about Islam’s Prophet Mohammad.
Since he assumed the leadership of Islamic State, Al-Qurayshi kept a low profile. U.S. officials claimed that he did not leave his apartment, except to take a shower on the roof. It is not clear how his death will impact the group. According to U.S. officials, he was responsible for overseeing operations in Syria, which included the attack on the prison last month.
Kirby stated that they are leaderless today and that is a serious blow. “This is not something that we believe ISIS will be able over real quick or really easily.”
According to U.S. officials who called them unwitting human shields, the second floor was occupied by a lower-ranking Islamic State leader with his family.
Biden gave the “final go” to the mission Tuesday morning in his daily national security briefing at the Oval Office. He was joined by Lloyd Austin, Defense Secretary, and Gen. Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Residents and activists claimed that the U.S. commandos launched a massive ground attack using megaphones to exhort children and women to leave the area in the initial stages of the operation.
The family of the first floor was able to leave the building without any injuries, much to the relief and delight of U.S. officials.
Officials did not identify the IS lieutenant who lived on the second level. He was a married man who barricaded himself in the house with his wife. They engaged in combat with the commandos who broke into the house after the explosion. Officials said that four children were taken from the second floor by U.S forces after a firefight in which both of them were killed. Kirby stated that it seemed that another child from the second floor had died. However, the circumstances are not known.
Two hours was spent by special operations forces on the ground — longer than normal for such an operation — which U.S. officials claimed is indicative of caution to minimize civilian casualties.
Kirby stated that another firefight broke out with an extremist group from the area with “hostile” intentions. He said that two people were killed in the street and that “their compadres fled”
The airborne attack was launched by U.S. troops from a base in the area, but officials wouldn’t give the exact location because of operational security concerns. They said that the U.S. had “deconflicted the operation with a range of entities”, but they did not specify if those entities included Russia, which has supported Assad’s government in Syria.
General Frank McKenzie, the head of U.S. Central Command, was the commander of the operation. He stated that the mission goal was to capture al-Qurayshi. According to McKenzie, the explosion set off by the IS leader was much larger than one would expect from a suicide vest. Al-Qurayshi’s corpse was discovered on the ground outside of the building by the force generated by the blast.
The Syrian government did not comment on the attack by foreign nations, which is something it rarely does.
According to the U.S., one of the helicopters involved in the raid had a mechanical problem. It was then redirected to another site where it was destroyed.
IS has emerged as the dominant global extremist threat over the past decade thanks to its cleverly designed propaganda. This includes brutal beheading videos. Its call to West-based followers to join the self-described caliphate of Syria or commit acts of violence at home inspired killings in the U.S. and thousands of foreign fighters.
The group’s largest military operation since its defeat in 2019 and its members being scattered underground, the attack on Hasaka’s prison was last month. It appeared that the attack was intended to free IS senior operatives from the prison.
It took U.S-backed Kurdish-led troops 10 days to retake the prison. The force claimed that more than 120 fighters and prison workers were killed, along with 374 militants.
