US officials report the death of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, the leader of the Islamic State (IS). Here’s everything we know so far.
Islamic State leader killed in Syria
According to US officials, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, the leader of the Islamic State (IS) is dead following a US raid in the northern part of Syria. He set off a blast that took him and his family out as special forces surrounded his hideout. The raid was disclosed by President Joe Biden on Thursday. His death “removed a major terrorist threat to the world”, stated President Biden. The officials explained the operation in detail but, did not name the IS deputy who was killed in the raid.
So far, the IS has not made public comments. Experts believe that Qurayshi’s death is a blow to the IS. But, the IS will ultimately regroup. However, the raid faced stiff resistance with the sounds of shelling and gunfire following for two hours. Quraishi’s wife and a deputy were killed in the raid as they had fired on the American forces. The US forces also engaged a smaller group that approached the area with hostility. “That resulted at the end of hostile activity. It appears as if a child was also killed. However, the US does not have perfect knowledge of every single person who was killed,” said John Kirby. Kirby is the spokesperson of the Pentagon. “US forces were able to evacuate 10 people from the house, including eight children,” he added.
Who was Qurayshi?
Qurayshi, the “Destroyer” also went by the alias Amir Mohammed Said Abdul Rahman al-Mawla, Hajji Abdullah, and Abdullah Qardash. He became the Islamic State leader in 2019, following the demise of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, his predecessor. The group announced his rise to leadership four days after Baghdadi’s death. Experts believe that he was groomed to the role of a leader and was kept away from the battlefield to ensure that he accends.
US raid targets the IS
The US raid targeted a triple-story building on the outskirts of Atmeh, an opposition-held town in the Idlib province. The region is controlled by jihadist groups who stand against the IS. The region is close to Syria’s border with Turkey and has Turkish-backed rebel factions who are fighting the Syrian government. Intelligence reports revealed that Qurayshi and his family were living on the second floor. He ran the IS from here using couriers to dispatch his orders. He never went outside except to the rooftop for bathing. However, an airstrike would come with civilian casualties as another family, not related to the militant group was occupying the ground floor.
“A possible ground raid was studied in detail, with a dozen scenarios practiced and risk assessments taken of the situation on the ground. Models were built of the residential compound and engineers studied the likelihood of the building crumbling in a blast,” stated the officials. President Biden was briefed of the possibility in December and, he gave a final okay to the special forces on Tuesday. It was monitored real-time from the White House situation room using the multiple helicopters that reached Atmeh on Tuesday.
