US President: ISIS leader's death is 'message to terrorists around the world'
In a speech, US President Joe Biden detailed the operation that led to the killing of ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, known as Haji Abdullah, and called it a "message to terrorists around the world."
The US President said in a speech at the White House on Thursday, February 4, that Haji Abdullah, who took over the leadership of the group in 2019 after the killing of al-Baghdadi, was responsible for the expansion and actions of ISIS around the world and in the region - including the recent massacre in a prison holding ISIS detainees in Syria.
Joe Biden also considered the ISIS leader to be responsible for the genocide of the Yazidis and the tragedies, crimes, and aggressions committed by the ISIS group against them in Iraq.
The US president said that under his orders, American forces carried out the operation “swiftly and precisely.” He added: “I have ordered our military forces to take all necessary precautions to minimize civilian casualties.”
Mr. Biden said that given that “this terrorist is present among families, including families of children, we chose to use our special forces for this operation rather than targeting him with an airstrike, accepting greater risk to our people. We chose this path with the aim of minimizing civilian casualties.”
The US President added that this "terrorist" blew up the entire third floor in his final moments and in a "final act of cowardice, disregarding his own family and the others in the building," and just like his predecessor (i.e. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi), he destroyed himself along with a number of his family members.
Stressing the continued readiness and vigilance of U.S. forces, Joe Biden said the operation removed a major terrorist leader and sent a "powerful message to terrorists around the world: We will come for you and we will find you."
Before the press conference, the US President announced in a statement: "Last night, at my direction, United States military forces conducted a successful counterterrorism operation in northwest Syria to protect the American people and our allies and make the world a safer place."
Joe Biden added: "Thanks to the skill and courage of our armed forces, ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi was eliminated."
The US President's statement continued: "All American forces returned safely from this operation. I will speak to American citizens about this this morning."
Earlier, US Defense Department spokesman John Kirby issued a statement announcing that US forces had conducted a counter-terrorism operation in northwestern Syria.
Source: Voice of America
