al-Qurayshi’s killed in US raid in Syria, ISIS has lost its second top leader
The leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) was killed during a US special forces counterterrorism operation in northwest Syria, President Joe Biden announced on Thursday.
As the two-hour long US offensive began on Wednesday, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi detonated a bomb, killing himself and members of his family, including women and children, on the third floor of the building where he lived.
“Last night, operating on my orders, United States military forces successfully removed a major terrorist threat to the world – the global leader of ISIS, known as Haji Abdullah,” Biden said in televised remarks. “He took over as global leader of ISIS in 2019. Since then, ISIS has directed terrorist operations targeting Americans, our allies, our partners and countless civilians Middle East, Africa and South Asia.”
With al-Qurayshi’s death, ISIS has lost its second top leader in less than three years. His predecessor, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed in a US operation in the same region in October 2019.
