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Abu Ibrahim al-Qurayshi
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.
Mr 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.
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.
US officials said Mr Biden was first briefed by US military commanders more than a month ago on the operation to capture or kill Qurayshi, also known as Hajji Abdullah.
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.
Mr 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 (22:00 GMT on Wednesday).
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.
Speaking to reporters, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that 10 people, including eight children, were safely evacuated from the house.
Qurayshi, however, detonated an explosive device that led to his death, along with that of his wife and two children.
The tactic appears to be the same that US forces encountered during a 2019 operation in Syria that led to the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
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 (10 miles) away from Atmeh.
Additionally, Mr Kirby said that US forces engaged a “small group” of individuals that were “deemed hostile” after they approached the area, resulting in two of them being killed.
“That resulted in the end of hostile activity,” he said.
Mr Kirby added that it appears a child was also killed nearby.
While no decision has been made to review or investigate the operation, Mr Kirby said that the Pentagon was “willing to take a look”. (BBC)
