The leader of the Islamic State (IS) group has been killed in an overnight US special forces raid in north-west Syria, President Joe Biden says.
Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi detonated a bomb that killed himself and members of his family in a building in Atmeh, north-west Syria, the US says. Photo: AFP
Biden said the death of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi had "removed a major terrorist threat to the world".
Qurayshi detonated a bomb that killed himself and members of his own family "in a final act of desperate cowardice", the president added.
Syrian first responders said they found the bodies of 13 people after the raid.
Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi pictured on a US reward announcement Photo: AFP / US Department of State
The operation targeted a two-storey residential building on the outskirts of the opposition-held town of Atmeh, which is in northern Idlib province and is close to the border with Turkey.
The region is a stronghold of jihadist groups that are fierce rivals of IS, as well as Turkish-backed rebel factions fighting the Syrian government.
President Biden was first briefed by US military commanders more than a month ago on the operation to capture or kill Qurayshi, a veteran Iraqi militant also known as Abdullah Qardash and Hajji Abdullah, US officials said.
Intelligence reports had established that Qurayshi was living with his family on the second floor of the residential building in Atmeh and that he never ventured outside, instead using couriers to despatch his orders to IS cells in Syria and elsewhere, they said. Another family not believed to be connected to IS or aware of Qurayshi's presence lived on the ground floor.
Biden ruled out an air strike to minimise civilian casualties and gave a final go-ahead for the special forces raid on Tuesday, monitoring it in real time from the White House situation room as multiple helicopters arrived in Atmeh around midnight on Thursday.
President Biden said the death of the Islamic State leader had removed a major terrorist threat to the world. Photo: AFP
Local sources said the US special forces faced stiff resistance on the ground, and that they came under fire from anti-aircraft guns mounted on vehicles. Gunfire and shelling were heard for two hours before the helicopters left.
US officials said the family living on the ground floor - a woman, a man and a number of children - were evacuated to safety at the start of the raid.
However, Qurayshi then "exploded a bomb that killed him and members of his own family, including women and children", one was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.
"While we are still assessing the results of this operation, this appears to be the same cowardly terrorist tactic we saw in the 2019 operation that eliminated al-Baghdadi," they added.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Qurayshi's predecessor, killed himself and three children by detonating an explosive vest during a US special forces raid on a hideout that was only 16km away from Atmeh.
- BBC