The “emir” of the Islamic State had been in Washington’s sights for some time. According to the accounts of several US administration officials, the IS leader, who succeeded Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi two years ago, also eliminated by the United States, had been located “a several months” near camps for displaced people in the locality of Atmé, in the Idlib region, an area largely controlled by jihadists and rebels. At the time, Joe Biden then ordered the intelligence services to confirm the identity of the jihadist leader, which was done in early December, said a White House official on condition of anonymity. According to a senior administration official, a detailed briefing is being held on December 20 with the US president to assess the risks of such an operation. Shortly after, the President orders the Pentagon to prepare the raid to eliminate him.
A few weeks later, the result is in: Abu Ibrahim al-Hachimi al-Qurachi, “emir” of IS, “chose to blow himself up”, thus killing his family, President Joe Biden said on Thursday, referring to congratulating the success of this operation which he followed from start to finish from the “situation room” of the White House. According to the Syrian White Helmets organization, thirteen civilians were killed during the operation. On the American side, full responsibility for these losses is attributed to the attitude of the leader of the IS. President Joe Biden called Quraishi’s suicide “a final act of desperate cowardice.” Yet the US special forces raid had been planned for weeks to avoid a bloody scenario. The objective was simple: try to avoid civilian casualties as much as possible and spare women and children.
On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chief of Staff General Mark Milley brief Joe Biden on the details of the operation using a model of the house where al-Qurachi is hiding. A drone strike is ruled out because of the presence of many children in the small three-storey apartment building where the IS leader lives with his family on the second floor. “Knowing that this terrorist had chosen to surround himself with families, including children, we made the choice to pursue a Special Forces raid at much greater risk to our own people rather than target him with an airstrike. “, Joe Biden said Thursday morning. The latter is “very steeped in the operational details” after months of planning, a senior administration official told Reuters. CNN. He engaged in a “constant exchange” with his military commanders.
Civilians called to leave the building
Moreover, the raid is all the more complicated since the terrorist leader does not leave his home – except occasionally to go to the roof of the building. On the first floor, lives with his family one of his lieutenants who does the shopping for him and transmits his messages to the jihadist organization and on the ground floor lives a family who knows nothing about the tenant on the second floor. It is therefore the airborne raid that is chosen to minimize the risk of civilian casualties. One of the options considered is for al-Qurachi to blow himself up, as al-Baghdadi had done. Army engineers, consulted, examine the building and conclude that there is little risk of it collapsing on the inhabitants of the other floors. Early Thursday morning, helicopters dropped off the soldiers near the building. The Pentagon has been very tight-lipped about the number of American soldiers involved and their equipment, simply stating that the raid only included elite soldiers.
As soon as they arrive, they call for residents to leave the building, shouting into loudspeakers. The family on the ground floor comes out, with four children, they are taken to safety. Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, who oversees US forces in the area and provides updates to Biden, said US troops asked six civilians, including four children, to leave the first floor of the building. US soldiers call on IS leader to surrender. But very quickly, an explosion pulverizes the second floor: Qurachi has blown himself up. He takes his wife and two children with him in death, according to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby. “The explosion is so powerful on the second floor that bodies are thrown outside,” said a White House official.
Biden followed the operation in real time
But the operation is not over. Qourachi’s lieutenant and his wife then begin to fire on the American soldiers, who retaliate and kill them. A child is also killed in the exchange of fire, said John Kirby, without specifying by whom he was killed. But four other children come out of the first floor unscathed, including a baby, and are evacuated. Shortly after, armed individuals approach the American forces and shoot at them. Two of them are killed and the others flee. Among the bodies found outside is that of Qurachi himself, said the head of US forces in the Middle East, General Kenneth McKenzie. He is identified by his fingerprints and his DNA and his body is left behind. At the start of the operation, one of the helicopters was damaged.
It is decided to move it away from residential areas and destroy it. The American soldiers are evacuated without incident. Joe Biden followed the entire operation in constant communication with military leaders. The President, Vice President Kamala Harris and other administration officials received real-time updates. Note that this was the most high-profile counterterrorism operation of Biden’s tenure, and officials seemed determined to use it to cast the president in a decisive light. The elimination of the leader of IS gives Joe Biden the possibility of posing as a commander on the international scene. If the American president has been hesitant in the past, this raid has highlighted the firmness he can show.