WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Thursday that U.S. forces killed the leader of Islamic State during an overnight raid in Syria that first responders reported left 13 civilians dead, calling the operation a success because it 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 hailed the slaying of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi as a major counterterrorism success. Al-Qurayshi, who took over the reigns 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.
