A leader of the Islamic State group blew himself up along with members of his family as American forces raided his Syria hideout, the United States revealed on Thursday. This is the second time in three years that the US has killed a leader of the violent group that has been fighting for resurgence with deadly attacks in the region.
President Joe Biden confirmed the raid by American special operations forces overnight, which US authorities described as a “major blow” to the extremist militant group.
At its peak, the Islamic State reigned over more than 40,000 square miles across Syria and Iraq, and over 8 million people. Last month, it launched a big offensive in northeast Syria to take a prison that held at least 3,000 IS inmates.
The raid was aimed at Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, who took over as the group’s leader positiin on October 31, 2019, just days after Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a US raid. Al-Qurayshi, unlike his predecessor, was a reclusive figure who presided over a weakened version of the organisation and avoided public appearances.
As US forces approached, al-Qurayshi, like al-Baghdadi, detonated a bomb that killed himself and members of his family, including women and children, Biden said in a statement.
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