Summary
The leader of Islamic State and one of the world’s most wanted men has been killed during an overnight raid in Syria by US special forces.
Here are the main developments:
- Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi died in the village of Atme, just 9 miles from where his predecessor, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed during a similar US raid in October 2019.
- The pre-dawn attack on a house led to up to 13 fatalities, among them women and children.
- Without reference to the raid, Unicef confirmed at least six children were killed in Atme overnight.
- In a White House address, Joe Biden said Qurayshi blew himself up the third floor, killing his own family members.
- US officials said the raid was planned for months and lasted two hours.
- A White House official said that US forces “took a lot of information” from the compound that could “lead to other leads”.
- Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby said the Pentagon has “strong, strong indications” that civilian deaths in the raid were not caused by US forces.
- However, the Pentagon said it was willing to review the operation.
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Updated
CNN just released a dramatic and graphic footage from the scene of the raid, which includes disturbing videos of rescue workers removing bodies of deceased children and shots of blood stains all around the compound.
The segment, narrated by CNN correspondent Arwa Damon, includes images of a separate building with large bullet holes and a video taken at night with the sound of helicopters and gunfire in the background.
ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi was killed Wednesday during a US counterterrorism raid in northwest Syria. At least 13 people were killed, including six children.
— CNN International PR (@cnnipr) February 3, 2022
Here's @arwacnn's latest report, which includes very disturbing video from the scene. pic.twitter.com/Z8YbSI6tH5
