IS Leader Kills Himself During Raid by US Troops in Syria

On Wednesday 7 December 2022,US Special Operations Forces conducted a night raid in Idlib,Northwest Syria,resulting in the death of Islamic State leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi,US President Joseph R. Biden announced Thursday morning.Mr.Biden said: Thanks to the bravery of our troops,this horrible terrorist leader is no more.Knowing that terrorist had chosen to surround himself with families,including children,we made a choice to pursue a Special Forces raid at a much greater risk to our own people rather than targeting him with an airstrike.* Such missions are in support of Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR),which seeks the lasting defeat of IS.Al-Qurayshi took control of IS when US troops neutralised former IS mastermind Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2019.* In the course of the approximately two-hour combat operation,up to thirteen people were killed,including civilians as well as militants,according to a Syrian Civil Defence group.The Pentagon is conducting an after-action review of the raid.* Al-Qurayshi blew himself and his family up with an explosive device when the US SOFs announced their presence outside the multi-family residence.The suicide blast caused the residence's partial destruction.Al-Qurayhsi's deputy and the deputy's wife were on the first floor and were killed by the SOFs when he engaged them in a firefight.No US troops were harmed during the raid.It is believed a few other militants were killed by attack helicopters as the militants approached the compound and were deemed hostile.* According to the monitoring organisation the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR),since early December,IS has stepped up its activity in areas held by US Ally the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).These activities include the assassination of,and attacks on,SDF members and members of the Autonomous Administration.At least eight IS operations were documented by SOHR activists against SDF members in the Deir Ezzor and al-Hasakah areas that killed three SDF members and wounded six others,including a civilian.There were also clashes in the Deir Ezzor countryside between the SDF and IS cells.The IS cells threaten everyone in the area,SOHR said.* There are about 900 US troops in Syria,and 2500 in Iraq,serving in support of OIR.Through August 2022,US troops in Iraq and Syria combined had come under 30 indirect-fire attacks-mainly rocket attacks,according to OIR.Several attacks were launched against US troops by Iran-backed militants.* IS no longer controls territory in Iraq or Syria.It just conducts sporadic attacks with its militant cells.*