This morning President Biden announced a successful special forces operations raid early today on a compound in northwestern Syria had eliminated ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, with no reported loss of American lives:
Last night at my direction, U.S. military forces successfully undertook a counterterrorism operation. Thanks to the bravery of our Armed Forces, we have removed from the battlefield Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi — the leader of ISIS.
— President Biden (@POTUS) February 3, 2022
https://t.co/lsYQHE9lR9
According to the Associated Press:
"Residents said helicopters flew overhead and U.S. forces clashed with gunmen for more than two hours around a two-story house surrounded by olive trees. They described continuous gunfire and explosions that jolted the sleepy village of Atmeh near the Turkish border, an area dotted with camps for internally displaced people from Syria’s civil war. [snip]
A journalist on assignment for The Associated Press and several residents said they saw body parts scattered near the site of the raid, a house in Syria’s rebel-held Idlib province. Most residents spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals."
President Biden is expected to address the nation at 9:30 a.m. EST today (his remarks can be found here).
(photo: via BBC)
