Suleiman Al Khalidi, Nandita Bose

AMMAN/WASHINGTON – The leader and founder of Islamic State, Joe Biden, announced on Thursday that he had died after blowing himself and his family up in a U.S. Military raid in Syria. He said this to end the jihadist group’s attempts to reorganize themselves as a guerrilla force following large swathes lost.

Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Quraishi was the leader of Islamic State after its founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died in 2019. He also detonated explosives while defending U.S. troops during an attack.

Biden and U.S. officials said that Quraishi, who was closing in on Quraishi’s northwestern Syria base overnight, set off a bomb that killed his family members, including his children.

The blast was so big it hurled bodies https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/islamic-state-leaders-bomb-blew-bodies-outside-building-us-officials-say-2022-02-03 out of the three-storey building where Quraishi was and into surrounding streets in the town of Atmeh, U.S. officials said, blaming Islamic State for all civilian casualties.

Biden stated that “this horrible terrorist leader has been defeated by the courage of our troops” during remarks to the White House

According to a senior White House official, Quraishi and Quraishi’s wives, along with a third-floor child, were all killed in the explosion. This child was likely Quraishi’s second-floor child, as well as Quraishi’s lieutenant, and his wife who died after being shot at by U.S. forces. The official stated that two additional fighters were also killed in the attack on U.S. aircraft.

Quraishi was using Quraishi’s house, and the unwitting relatives living on its first floor, as a “protective Shield,” which complicated the planning of the raid.

However, the official could not explain why these numbers were different from those given by Syrian rescue workers. They stated that at least 13 people had been killed, which included six children and four women.

According to the official, “It is very evident from reviewing the operation live that the huge explosion on the 3rd floor was what caused the casualties.”

Quraishi’s passing is yet another blow to Islamic State, nearly three years since its self-declared caliphate collapsed and its fighters were defeated by U.S. forces.

Islamic State (also known as ISIS) has been inciting insurgent attacks against Syria and Iraq since then. The most recent was last month when its gunmen stormed a prison https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/syrian-kurds-say-islamic-sate-militants-surrender-after-prison-raid-2022-01-24 in northeastern Syria housing Islamic State suspects.

Quraishi, a 45-year-old Iraqi https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/abu-ibrahim-al-quraishi-islamic-states-slain-leader-2022-02-03, had remained largely in the shadows since succeeding Baghdadi who led the group when it launched a lightning expansion in 2014 that shocked the world. According to the U.S., he was hurt and had lost his leg during a U.S. Air Strike in 2015. ISIS took large parts of Syria and Iraq under its control, instilling strict Islamic rule on millions of people and encouraging attacks against the West.

Biden and U.S. officials referred to Quraishi in their 2014 genocide against minority Yazidis. They also said that Quraishi was the driving force behind the massacre.

Biden declared, “Last night’s operations took a key terrorist leader off the battlefield. It has sent a strong signal to terrorist around world: we will come after your and find them.”

Officials from the White House said that they have kept in contact with each of the partners in the counter ISIS coalition’s operation since then and that all parties were determined to fight ISIS and to counter the threats it poses to their countries.

Haji Abdullah Quraishi was also killed. This is a significant step in restoring some of the Biden’s foreign policy credibility after being heavily criticized last year for their chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

U.S. officials believe that ISIS will succeed the deceased leader.

Atmeh was near the border with Turkey and Syria, where residents reported hearing heavy gunfire and explosions during the raid which started at night. According to them, U.S. forces used loudspeakers for warning children and women to get out of the area.

Pentagon claimed that 10 civilians were evacuated, with children included. General Frank McKenzie from U.S. Central Command told the Washington-based Middle East Institute all were safe and mobile and that they left on the spot when U.S. forces had left.

U.S. military procedures to guard against civilian casualties are under scrutiny https://www.reuters.com/world/study-faults-us-military-civilian-casualties-pentagon-plans-review-2022-01-27 following a high-profile mistaken drone strike in Afghanistan that the Pentagon initially hailed a success.

BODIES IN THE RUBBLE

A resident recorded a video of the scene and Reuters saw the remains of two children, apparently deceased, and a man inside the building rubble.

Additional footage shows rescue workers loading what appears to be a tiny body wrapped in white plastic into an ambulance. Additional body bags were found in the rear of the vehicle.

Head torches were used by workers to search for the remains of children’s toys, women’s clothes, and concrete chunks in the rubble. One kitchen was completely destroyed, with windows hanging from its frames. The plastic utensils had half of their melting points.

Reuters couldn’t independently verify these images.

One witness from Syria said that he saw the aircraft flying overhead after he had left home at midnight.

“Ten minutes later we heard screams. He said: “Surrender, your house is under attack.” “There was bombardment from machine guns and airplanes.”

A second witness claimed that he witnessed several bodies on the spot. According to him, “there was blood everywhere.” According to him, one U.S. helicopter had suffered a mechanical problem and was destroyed by U.S. forces.

Residents, security officers, and local leaders in northern Iraq claim that Islamic State is a dangerous threat. This has been made possible by the absence of central control over many parts.

Syria analyst Hassan Hassan stated that Quraishi’s death is an enormous deal for ISIS and a major blow because ISIS has never heard from the new leader. As long as Americans remain on ground in Syria and Iraq, ISIS will be under immense pressure and weak.”

Quraishi had been hiding in a Syria region that was home to many militant groups, including one affiliated with al Qaeda whose leaders included foreign fighters.

U.S. forces used drones for years to attack jihadists in this area. However, Thursday’s operation was the largest U.S. force has conducted since al-Baghdadi’s raid. Charles Lister is a senior fellow at the Washington-based Middle East Institute.

Quraishi’s release from U.S. custody was not the end of it. The secretive organization now has a network of local cells operating independently, and the administration is centralised.

In mid-2019 after Islamic State’s defeat on the battlefield, the U.S.-led coalition against it stated that the group had 14,000-18,000 members. However, exact numbers remain elusive.

Analysts think that many local fighters have returned to normal living and are ready to come back when the chance presents itself.