According to President Joe Biden, the leader of ISIS has been taken out in an overnight U.S. raid in northwestern Syria. The raid has left a dozen people dead, including Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraysh, the successor of notorious ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
In a statement posted Thursday morning, Biden announced: “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 added: “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.”
The Associated Press reported that al-Qurayshi died in the raid. Biden said he would give more details later on Thursday morning.
U.S. Special Operations Forces carried out the two-hour raid in the small village of Atmeh inside the rebel-held Idlib province.