President Joe Biden said Islamic State leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi was killed in a U.S. military raid in Syria on Thursday.
According to reports, the raid took place in northwest Syria on Thursday, the same region where the previous leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed by U.S. special forces in 2019.
“Last night at my direction, U.S. military forces in northwest Syria successfully undertook a counterterrorism operation to protect the American people and our Allies, and make the world a safer place,” the president 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,” Biden declared.
The U.S. President said special forces involved in the operation had been successfully returned with the Pentagon also describing the operation as “successful.”
But Syrian first responders said at least 13 people were killed.
The president is set to deliver remarks on the operation Thursday morning.