President Joe Biden said Thursday that a U.S. raid in Syria killed the leader of ISIS.
“Last night at my direction, U.S. military forces in northwest Syria successfully undertook a counterterrorism operation to protect the American people and our Allies, and make the world a safer place,” he said in a statement.
“Thanks to the skill and bravery of our Armed Forces, we have taken off the battlefield Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi—the leader of ISIS. All Americans have returned safely from the operation. I will deliver remarks to the American people later this morning. May God protect our troops.”
Earlier, the Pentagon has confirmed U.S. special operations forces carried out a what it called a “successful” counterterrorism mission in northwest Syria Wednesday, but provided few other details.
“U.S. Special Operations forces under the control of U.S. Central Command conducted a counterterrorism mission this evening in northwest Syria. The mission was successful. There were no U.S. casualties,” said John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, in a statement. “More information will be provided as it becomes available.”
One of the helicopters used in the mission experienced a mechanical problem and then had to be blown up on the ground by U.S. forces, according to a U.S. official.
No details were provided on who was the target of the counterterrorism mission or whether it involved ground troops and helicopters as was claimed in a flurry of social media reports emerging from Syria on Wednesday night.
Syrians gather at the scene following an overnight counterterrorism mission carried out by U.S. special operations forces in northwestern Syria.Those social media posts reported possible U.S. military activity in Idlib province, a town in far western Syria, close to the border with Turkey. Some posts included videos that seemed to show night scenes where the sounds of gunfire and low-flying helicopters could be heard near the towns of Atimah and Dar Ballout.
The approximately 1,000 U.S. military troops in Syria operate in eastern Syria supporting the mission against ISIS.
American troops do not operate in government-controlled areas in northwestern Syria, especially in Idlib province, which was an extremist safe haven for much of the last decade. But they have sporadically carried out counterterrorism missions in Idlib, targeting various Islamic extremist groups with drone strikes.
The highest profile mission was a ground raid that killed ISIS’ top leader, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, who was hiding out in a house close to the border with Turkey, on Oct. 27, 2019.
