Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi Passed Away!

Islamic State top leader killed in American raid.

The leader of the Islamic State was killed. Born Muhammad Sa’id Abdal-Rahman al-Mawla, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi was the new leader of the Daesh known also as Islamic State of Iraq/Syria and the Levant.

After the former president Washed Up 45 killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, they appoint this guy as the new Emir of the extremist group. The group was isolated to pockets in Syria, Nigeria, Chad,  and lone wolf extremists who carry out attack on behalf a militant Sunni fundamentalism. The Islamic State is denounced by Muslims and is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S., European Union, Great Britain, Canada, Israel and the United Nations.

President Joe Biden announced that U.S. military forces successfully undertook a counterterrorism operation in Atme in northwest Syria near its border with Turkey, resulting in the death of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. 

Thirteen people are believed to have died, including six kids and four women, during the daring raid which involved 24 elite Special-Ops backed by fighter jets and helicopter gunships on Thursday.

According to reports from neighbors, a loudspeaker in Arabic called for neighboring civilians to evacuate the area, followed by U.S. soldiers and an Arabic interpreter on the ground making the same announcements. A senior White House official stated to Reuters that al-Qurashi detonated a bomb which killed himself and 12 more people, including members of his family, during the Joint Special Operations Command operation. 

Biden's gutsy call.

Biden stated that the civilian causalities were caused by this explosion by al-Qurayshi.

The extremist "chose to blow himself up" in a "final act of desperate cowardness," Biden said on Thursday.

Following the explosion, U.S. Special Forces commandoes entered the building and had a shootout with survivors, including a lieutenant of al-Qurayshi, who was also killed. According to initial reports from the Syria Civil Defense (White Helmets), four women and six children were among the dead.

"As a final act of desperate cowardness, [al-Qurayshi] with no regard to the lives of his own family or others in the building, he chose to blow himself up," Biden said.

He said the extremist blew up "that third floor rather than face justice for the crimes he has committed, taking several members of his family with him.

"This horrible terrorist leader is no more."

Biden, along with Vice President Kamala Harris and national security advisors, watched the raid on live-feed from the White House Situation Room, according to photos released by the administration.

A fighter of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham was also killed in a brief shootout with U.S forces after he noticed the raid taking place. There were no reported U.S. casualties, although one U.S. helicopter experienced mechanical problems and landed in a separate area, where it was destroyed by another U.S. aircraft.

"This operation is testament to America's reach and capability to take out terrorist threats, no matter where they try to hide anywhere in the world," he said.

"I'm determined to protect the American people from terrorist threats, and I'll take decisive action to protect this country.

"We remain vigilant. We remain prepared. Last night's operation took a major terrorist leader off the battlefield and sent a strong message to terrorists around the world: We will come after you and find you."

"At the beginning of the operation, the terrorist target exploded a bomb that killed him and members of his own family, including women and children," a senior administration official told Reuters.

It comes hours after the President confirmed al-Qurayshi - who had a $10 million bounty on his head - had been "removed from the battlefield" during the overnight operation.

In a statement, the President said: "Last night at my direction, U.S. military forces in the northwest Syria successfully undertook a counterterrorism operation to protect the American people and our Allies, and make the world a safer place

"Thanks to the skill and bravery of our Armed Forces, we have taken off the battlefield Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi—the leader of ISIS. All Americans have returned safely from the operation.

"May God protect our troops."

U.S. troops were reportedly deployed via a helicopter in the middle of the night and surrounded Al-Qurashi's house and ordered the women and children to evacuate.

The helicopters then deployed their ordnance following the ground assault, with several strikes decimating large sections of the house.

Al-Qurashi was a senior terrorist leader in ISIS's predecessor organisation, Al Qaeda in Iraq, and steadily rose through the ranks to become deputy leader, according to Rewards for Justice.

He spearheaded the campaign to abduct, rape, and slaughter thousands of Yazidis in northwest Iraq and was on the US State Department's most wanted list since March 2020.

The operation - which residents say lasted more than two hours - took place in Atmeh, a village near the border with Turkey that is home to thousands of Syrian refugees.