Isis leader killed - latest news: Biden says Qurayshi killing is warning to terrorists

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Biden announces Isis leader has been killed

President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that US Special Forces killed the leader of the Islamic State during a raid in northwest Syria.

Rescue workers have said that women and children are among the 13 people who died in the raid.

Mr Biden said in a statement that the leader of the terrorist group was killed. He has been identified by ISIS as Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi.

The leader reportedly died at the start of the raid when he discharged an explosive that killed him as well as members of his family.

“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,” Mr Biden said in his statement. “All Americans have returned safely from the operation.”

Two dozen American special forces conducted the raid with the support of helicopter gunships, armed drones, and fighter jets, according to The New York Times.

Al-Qurayshi succeeded Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as ISIS leader after al-Baghdadi was killed during a US raid in October 2019.

Key Points

• Joe Biden’s full statement on raid that killed ISIS leader
• UNICEF: At least six children killed in northwest Syria overnight
• Islamic State leader killed as US special forces target suspected jihadists in Syria
• How the raid unfolded
• Death of ISIS leader major blow to terror group, analysts say

[3 February 2022 16:57 · Gustaf Kilander]

Photos show decimated building after US operation that killed Isis leader

A building destroyed in the aftermath of a counter-terrorism mission conducted by the U.S. Special Operations Forces is seen in Atmeh, Syria, February 3, 2022 (VIA REUTERS)

A building destroyed in the aftermath of a counter-terrorism mission conducted by the U.S. Special Operations Forces is seen in Atmeh, Syria, February 3, 2022 (VIA REUTERS)

Debris and rubble are seen in the aftermath of a counter-terrorism mission conducted by the U.S. Special Operations Forces in Atmeh, Syria, February 3, 2022 (Mohamed Al-Daher via REUTERS)

A damaged shutter is seen on a building in the aftermath of a counter-terrorism mission conducted by the U.S. Special Operations Forces in Atmeh, Syria, February 3, 2022 in this picture obtained from social media (Mohamed Al-Daher via REUTERS)

[3 February 2022 17:17 · Gustaf Kilander]

Biden approves strategy he opposed in 2011 death of Osama Bin Laden

President Joe Biden said on Thursday that the decision to send in special forces instead of conducting an airstrike had been an effort to minimize civilian casualties.

He said that Isis leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi was behind numerous horrific acts.

“Thanks to the bravery of our troops, this horrible terrorist leader is no more,” Mr Biden said in the Roosevelt Room of the White House.

He added that he “made a choice to pursue a Special Forces raid at a much greater risk to our own people” rather than destroying the entire building with a missile.

A similar judgement was made in the operation that led to the death of Osama Bin Laden in 2011.

According to The New York Times, Mr Biden, who was serving as vice president at the time, was against using special forces at that point because he viewed the mission as too risky for US troops.

“This operation is testament to America’s reach and capability to take out terrorist threats no matter where they try to hide anywhere in the world,” Mr Biden added on Thursday.

[3 February 2022 17:37 · Gustaf Kilander]

Afghanistan withdrawal appear not to have harmed intelligence gathering to find ISIS leader

President Joe Biden’s speech on Thursday came after an operation that was the endpoint of a mission that began late last year when US intelligence indicated that al-Qurayshi was living in northwest Syria, close to the border with Turkey.

Following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, some in the US government worried that ISIS would regain control of territory.

CIA Director William Burns told Congress that US intelligence operations against ISIS could be harmed.

But as the US looked for al-Qurayshi, the Afghanistan withdrawal didn’t appear to pose any problems, with intelligence officers finding him in late 2021 after following a number of couriers, The New York Times reported.

The US was able to evaluate the building in which he was living and discovered that the family who lived downstairs were unaware that he was running a global terror network. A plan to take him out was then formed, focusing on limiting civilian casualties.

US officials have blamed al-Qurayshi, who detonated an explosive device before he could be eliminated by US forces, for at least some of the 13 deaths that have been reported.

[3 February 2022 17:40 · Richard Hall, Bel Trew]

Inside the midnight raid to kill an Isis leader

It began shortly after midnight. Residents of the Syrian town of Atmeh, just across the border from Turkey, were awoken by the deafening buzz of helicopters close above them. The aircraft were carrying a team of US commandos, who disembarked and surrounded a residential building. Through loudspeakers, the soldiers called in Arabic for the people inside to surrender.

Terrified and alone with her mother and sister, local resident Sima, 22 (not her real name) said they moved away from the windows as a precaution.

“We heard a voice from loudspeakers saying the woman and children should get out of the house that was being targeted. But we didn’t know which house was the target,” she told The Independent.

Thousands of miles away, in the White House situation room, US president Joe Biden, vice president Kamala Harris and top generals followed the operation closely. The raid to kill Isis leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi had been months in the planning. Mr Biden had given the final order for the raid on Tuesday.

But just as soon as it began, the world’s most-wanted militant leader carried out the task himself, detonating a bomb that killed himself and his family. The blast threw bodies onto the street below, according to witnesses.

[3 February 2022 17:55 · Gustaf Kilander]

Photos show top US officials monitoring raid that killed Isis leader

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (C) and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley (R) monitor the military operation in Syria from the National Military Command Center in Washington, DC (US Department of Defense/AFP via)

In this image provided by The White House, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and members of the President's national security team observe from the Situation Room at the White House in Washington, on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022 (AP)

[3 February 2022 17:58 · Richard Hall, Bel Trew]

US forces had been watching Isis leader’s home for months

The US military had been watching the house where al-Qurayshi was killed for months. Atmeh is controlled by Syrian opposition forces dominated by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly the Nusra Front, which was formerly linked to Al Qaeda. The former Isis leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed in a US-led operation just 10 miles from Atmeh in October 2019.

Officials said they knew Qurayshi had lived there with a lieutenant, that couriers came in and out of the building, and that he was still directly overseeing Isis activities across Iraq and Syria. A little over 10 days ago, Isis fighters launched a brazen attack on a prison in northeast Syria in an attempt to free its comrades. The 20 January attack lasted for 10 days and saw dozens of Isis fighters engage with US forces and allies the Syrian Democratic Forces. It was the largest Isis attack since the collapse of the group’s caliphate nearly three years ago and sparked warnings of a resurgence.