US president says global leader of self-proclaimed Islamic State blew himself up, killing family, as US troops approached.
The president of the United States said that the leader of Daesh who died on Thursday morning during an anti-terror operation in Syria committed suicide. At a press conference held at the White House, Joe Biden said that Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi blew himself up when US troops approached his home in Syria’s northwestern Idleb province.
“We know that as our troops approached to capture the terrorist, in a final act of desperate cowardice, without any regard for the lives of his own family or others in the building, he chose to blow himself up,” the president reported. “[Al-Qurayshi] blew up not just the vest, but the entire third floor, instead of facing justice for the crimes he committed, taking several of his family members with him, as his predecessor had done.”
In the communication, Joe Biden notes that al Qurayshi had assumed leadership of Daesh after the death of the previous leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in 2019. “Since then, Daesh has directed terrorist operations that have targeted Americans, allies, our partners and countless civilians in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.”
According to the US President, al-Qurayshi “oversaw the proliferation of terrorist groups affiliated with the self-proclaimed Islamic State globally, attacked communities and murdered innocents.” He was also responsible for the “recent and brutal attack” on a prison in northeastern Syria where former jihadist fighters were held.
Happening Now: President Biden delivers remarks on a successful counterterrorism operation in Northwest Syria to protect the American people and make the world a safer place. https://t.co/tGy7hrFsoY
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 3, 2022
The US president also said that the team is still working on a full report of the operation that took place overnight, which he considered “successful”. “Last night, United States forces successfully acted under a massive terrorist threat to the world, the global leader of ISIS [Islamic State],” he said.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), at least 13 people – including women and children – died during the operation. Joe Biden assures that he instructed the “Department of Defense to take all possible precautions to minimize civilian casualties”, opting for a special forces raid instead of an air strike “with much greater risk” for the northern military. -Americans.
Source: With Agencies