US President: Killing ISIS Leader is ‘Message to Terrorists Worldwide’
Joe Biden, President of the United States, in a speech referred to the details of the operation that led to the killing of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi, known as Hajji Abdullah, the leader of ISIS, and called it “a message to terrorists around the world.”
The US President on Thursday, February 4th, in this speech at the White House said that Hajji Abdullah, who took over the leadership of the group in 2019 following the killing of al-Baghdadi, was responsible for the expansion and activities of ISIS around the world and the region – including the recent massacre in a prison holding detained ISIS forces in Syria.
Joe Biden also held the ISIS leader accountable for the genocide of the Yazidis and the atrocities, crimes, and assaults committed by the ISIS group against them in Iraq.
The US President said that upon his orders, American forces carried out this operation “swiftly and precisely.” He added: “I ordered our military personnel to take all necessary precautions to minimize civilian casualties.”
Mr. Biden said that given that “this terrorist was present among families, including families with children, we made the choice that rather than targeting him with an airstrike, by accepting greater risk to our personnel we would use our special forces for this operation. We chose this path with the goal of minimizing civilian casualties.”
The US President added that this “terrorist” in the final moments and in “a final cowardly act, disregarding his own family and other people present in that building” detonated the entire third floor and, just like his predecessor (Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi), killed himself along with several family members.
Joe Biden, while emphasizing the continued readiness and vigilance of US forces, said that this operation removed one of the major terrorist leaders from the field and sent “a strong message to terrorists around the world: We will come after you and we will find you.”
Prior to this press conference, the US President declared in a statement: “Last night, upon my orders, the United States military forces conducted a successful counterterrorism operation in northwestern Syria to protect the American people and our allies and to make the world a safer place.”
Joe Biden added: “Thanks to the skill and courage of our armed forces, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi, the leader of ISIS, has been removed.”
Further in the US President’s statement: “All American forces returned safely from this operation. This morning I will speak with the American people about this matter.”
Prior to that, John Kirby, spokesperson for the US Department of Defense, in a statement announced that American forces in northwestern Syria have carried out a counterterrorism operation.
Source: Voice of America
