Washington – The US on Thursday announced the killing of Isis chief Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi in a counterterrorism operation in north-west Syria.
“Last night at my direction, US military forces in north-west Syria successfully undertook a counterterrorism operation to protect the American people and our allies, and make the world a safer place,” the White House said in a statement.
“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,” the statement added.
The White House said Biden will deliver remarks to the American people later on Thursday.
Chief of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (Isis), al-Qurayshi was imprisoned in the US-run Camp Bucca in Iraq starting in 2004, according to US media reports.
Reports said he was active in IS’s predecessor organisation and eventually became one of former IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s most trusted deputies.
Al-Qurayshi is also seen as the architect behind IS’s killing of the Yazidi religious minority and oversaw the terror group’s global operations.
The slain Isis chief is also credited for preventing the fall of terror organisations following Baghdadi’s death in a US operation in October 2019.
The US had offered a reward of millions of dollars for information leading to al-Qurayshi’s capture.