ISIS Leader Killed in US Raid in Syria

Islamic State leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi blew himself up during a US special forces assault on his northwest Syria compound.

Summary

Three up, three down. According to the Biden Administration, ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi detonated a suicide vest during a US special forces raid on his compound.

• Al-Qurayshi is the third consecutive ISIS leader to die in a US raid. He took over as ISIS’s leader after Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died in a 2019 raid ordered by then-President Donald Trump.
• US special forces assaulted al-Qurayshi’s compound in northwest Syria with helicopters just before he detonated his suicide vest, killing multiple members of his family.
• Thirteen bodies were found in the rubble, including women and children. No US soldiers were killed.
• “Thanks to the bravery of our troops this horrible terrorist leader is no more,” said President Joe Biden in a statement Thursday.
• Biden said al-Qurayshi was responsible for the attempted ISIS prison break in Syria earlier this month that resulted in over 500 deaths as well as the 2014 genocide of the Yazidi people.

• CNN covered the “tense moments” inside the Situation Room as the long-planned raid was carried out Wednesday.
• The New York Times reported that decision to launch a Special Forces raid instead of an airstrike was designed to minimize civilian casualties. This comes on the heels of the August 29, 2021 botched retaliatory airstrike after the Kabul airport bombing that killed ten innocent civilians including children.
• BBC News assessed why taking out al-Qurayshi was so important to the United States: a special forces raid to them signified his importance to Washington and as a warning to other ISIS fighters.

• Fox News brought readers inside the “incredibly complex” raid, which US officials compared to Operation Neptune Spear that killed Osama bin Ladin.
• Administration spokespeople tried to dismiss out of hand legitimate questions about their claims regarding Russia and the anti-ISIS operation. Task and Purpose compared what it saw as the Biden administration’s “if you don’t trust us, then *expletive* you” attitude to that of the Bush administration in March 2003 before the invasion of Iraq.
• The Daily Caller reported on one of those encounters, specifically the shouting match State Department spokesman Ned Price engaged in with a reporter over Russia.

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© Dominic Moore, 2022