WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Thursday that the leader of Islamic State was killed during an overnight raid by U.S. forces in Syria that also left a number of civilians dead, declaring the operation a success that eliminated a “major terrorist threat to the world.”
“Thanks to the bravery of our troops, this horrible terrorist leader is no more,” Biden said during an address from the White House.
Senior administration officials said all troops returned safely from the mission, and portrayed the slaying of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi as a major victory in the nation’s counterterrorism efforts. Al-Qurayshi, who took over the reins of Islamic State in 2019 following the slaying of its previous leader, had been coordinating “the group’s global terror operations to include directing operations that pose a direct threat to the American people and our partners around the world,” said a senior U.S. administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter.
