ISIS leader’s death ‘significant blow’ to terror group, McKenzie says

WASHINGTON: The head of the Islamic State terrorist group is dead after a US special operations raid prompted the terrorist leader to activate an explosive device and end his own life, in what’s seen as a “significant blow” to the terror group, according to Gen. Kenneth McKenzie.

The mission, which took place Wednesday night in northwest Syria, resulted in the death of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi. Al-Qurayshi had led the insurgent group since ISIS’s founder, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed in a similar US raid in Syria in October 2019.

While al-Baghdadi was an “icon” within the organization and seen as a philosophical leader, al-Qurayshi was more involved in detailed planning and operations, said McKenzie, the head of US Central Command whose area of responsibility includes Syria.

Although the Pentagon reported no US casualties, the Washington Post reports that local first responders said 13 people were killed during the attack, including women and children.

In announcing the operation this morning, President Joe Biden said that he had chosen to move ahead with a special forces raid, rather than an airstrike, to decrease the likelihood of civilian casualties, even if it put US troops “at much greater risk.”

The intent of the raid was to capture al-Qurayshi, McKenzie said during a virtual event Thursday afternoon. But after US forces isolated the compound where al-Qurayshi was residing and called for the people inside to evacuate, al-Qyrayshi is believed to have blown up the third floor of the building to avoid capture, killing his wife and two children as well.

Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby did not give a total casualty count, but said in addition to Qurayshi’s family, at least one other civilian, a child, was killed on the second floor where a firefight had taken place between US and ISIS fighters. US forces safely evacuated some 10 people, including eight children, from the building, Kirby said.

While the evacuation of the second floor occurred, multiple fighters linked to the local al Qaeda affiliate began moving toward US troops with weapons, McKenzie said. At least two of those fighters were killed during a gun engagement from a helicopter.

Kirby said the US would “examine” the operation to see if the commandos caused any harm to innocents, but said the US government currently has “strong, strong indications” the loss of innocent life was caused by al-Qurayshi and his fighters.

McKenzie reiterated that he didn’t believe that any harm had come to noncombatants as a result of US actions.

“We deeply regret the loss of life of any noncombatants,” he said. “But I will note that ISIS fighters were directly or indirectly responsible for every one of those family members who perished in the mission through their cowardly acts, or through the choice to fight US forces in close proximity to those noncombatants.”

Al-Qurayshi’s remains were positively identified by fingerprints and DNA analysis, Kirby said.

During the operation a US helicopter experienced a “drive train issue” during the infiltration stage of the raid, Kirby said. It then was transported to a remote location close to the target site and detonated by US forces in order to keep it from falling into enemy hands.  McKenzie, who leads US Central Command, made the final call to destroy the aircraft.

Al-Qurashi “oversaw the spread of ISIS affiliated terrorist groups around the world,” Biden said. “He was responsible for the recent brutal attack on a prison in northeast Syria holding ISIS fighters, which was swiftly addressed by our brave partners in the Syrian Democratic Forces. He was the driving force behind the genocide of the Yazidi people in northwestern Iraq in 2014.”

“Thanks to the bravery of our troops, this horrible terrorist leader is no more,” Biden said.

Breaking Defense’s Lee Ferran contributed to this report.