terrorism
IS leader killed in US military operation
In the civil war country Syria, a military coalition led by the USA is fighting terrorists. Photo: Baderkhan Ahmad/AP/dpa/Archive
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Several hundred people have been killed in a heavy attack by the IS terrorist militia in recent weeks. Now the US military has killed their leader. Civilians are also killed.
According to the White House, the US military killed the leader of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist militia during an operation in northwestern Syria.
US President Joe Biden said he ordered the operation against Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Kurashi last night.
Biden, who is also the supreme commander of the US armed forces, said all soldiers returned safely from the mission. The mission was to protect US citizens and allies. Thanks to the skills and courage of the US military, the IS leader was “taken off the battlefield”. The procedure “made the world a safer place,” the president said. Biden plans to provide more details in a speech to the nation later today.
13 civilians killed, including children
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 13 civilians were also killed in the airborne operation, including four children. The military coalition also bombed targets north of the Idlib region. The fighting continued into the night. An activist in the region told the German Press Agency that the IS leader is suspected of being behind the serious attack on a prison in north-eastern Syria. More than 300 people were killed in the city of Al-Hassakah at the end of January. The attack was considered the heaviest in many years. Observers feared that the jihadists would regain strength.
Local residents reported to a dpa photographer in Syria that the fighting around a house had lasted a good three hours. The target was just a few kilometers from the place where US special forces killed the then IS boss Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi during an operation in autumn 2019.