U.S. particular forces carried out an in a single day raid in northwestern Syria that killed Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, chief of the Islamic State terrorist group, President Joe Biden stated Thursday.
“Final night time at my course, U.S. navy forces efficiently undertook a counterterrorism operation,” Biden stated in an announcement. “Due to the bravery of our Armed Forces, now we have faraway from the battlefield Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi — the chief of ISIS.”
“All Individuals have returned safely from the operation,” he stated.
The dramatic raid was stated to have killed 13 folks, together with girls and kids, in accordance with native residents and first responders. It’s unclear if al-Qurayshi was among the many 13.
He was named ISIS chief in October 2019 after his predecessor, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, died throughout a U.S. raid in the identical area earlier that month.
Helicopters roared all of a sudden early Thursday over the village of Atmeh, close to the Turkish border in Syria’s rebel-held Idlib province, in accordance with one resident who described an hourslong in a single day standoff at a residential constructing that was subsequently diminished to rubble.
At the very least 13 folks, together with six youngsters and 4 girls, have been killed in clashes and bombing that occurred “after an American airdrop,” in accordance with the native White Helmets rescue service.
“Our groups handled the injured and recovered the our bodies,” the volunteer reduction group formally often known as the Syrian Civil Protection stated in an announcement.
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby stated in a quick assertion that there had been no U.S. casualties within the Particular Operations forces mission and extra data could be launched as out there.
A U.S. official advised NBC Information {that a} navy helicopter skilled a upkeep subject in the course of the operation. It was set down safely not less than a mile away from the target, however was deemed unsafe to fly again and was detonated on web site, the official stated.
In Atmeh, as soon as a small and sleepy village identified for its olive timber however now dwelling to numerous camps for these displaced by the nation’s long-running civil battle, residents described a dramatic and lethal in a single day incident.
Mohamed al-Omar, 65, advised NBC Information that the constructing that was focused belongs to his son, who has been dwelling in Germany since 2016.
He stated he had been renting the constructing out since his son’s departure.
A widow and her son had been dwelling on the third flooring, whereas her brother, his spouse and their youngsters had been dwelling on the second, he stated. Al-Omar stated he believed that they had all been killed in a single day. He stated he did not know if anybody dwelling there had been concerned in jihadist exercise.
The third flooring of the residential constructing had been fully destroyed within the raid, he stated, whereas the second and first flooring had been considerably broken.
Idlib is broadly managed by Turkey-backed fighters, however can also be an al-Qaida stronghold and residential to a number of of its high operatives. Different militants, together with extremists from the rival Islamic State group, have additionally discovered refuge within the area.
One neighbor stated that he had been sleeping in his bed room when he heard the sound of helicopters beginning to get “stronger” and “louder” as they neared, describing it as “terrifying.”
“I seemed out the window and noticed the airdrop to my neighbor’s home,” stated Abu Omar, 39, by way of WhatsApp message.
After that, he stated he heard a voice booming by way of loudspeakers, warning these within the residence to “go away the home instantly” or be focused.
The calls continued for about half an hour, he stated, earlier than gunshots could possibly be heard adopted by a ultimate warning. Omar stated a lady seemed to be talking with these issuing the warning earlier than the home “was bombed.”
Different residents and activists within the space described seeing a big floor assault and likewise described listening to U.S. forces utilizing loudspeakers asking girls and kids to depart the premises, The Related Press reported.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based opposition battle monitor, additionally stated the raid had killed not less than 13 folks, together with 4 youngsters and three girls.
Syria has been gripped by over a decade of battle, with the United Nations’ human rights workplace warning in September the battle had already left greater than 350,000 folks lifeless, calling the determine “an undercount.”
The U.S. has beforehand used drones to focus on high Al Qaeda figures in Idlib, as soon as dwelling to most of the group’s leaders. The Pentagon has accused the group of utilizing Syria as a base for threats inside the nation, in addition to in neighboring Iraq and past.
The most recent operation is the biggest in northwestern Syria since that which marked al-Baghdadi’s dying in October 2019.
American forces have continued to conduct airstrikes in Syria since then, together with final yr.
In October, a U.S. airstrike within the space killed a senior Al Qaeda chief, Abdul Hamid al-Matar, in an effort that the U.S. Central Command stated would disrupt the group’s “capability to additional plot and perform international assaults threatening U.S. residents, our companions, and harmless civilians.”
In December the U.S. and its navy allies shot down a drone believed to pose a risk to a U.S. outpost in southern Syria, simply weeks after the bottom was attacked by drones and rocket fireplace.