WASHINGTON: The United States on Thursday announced the killing of ISIS chief Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi in a counterterrorism operation in northwest Syria.
"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 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.
ISIS chief al-Qurayshi was imprisoned in the US-run Camp Bucca in Iraq starting 2004, according to US media reports. Reports said he was active in IS' predecessor organization and eventually became one of former IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi most trusted deputies.
Al-Qurayshi is also seen as the architect behind IS' killing of the Yazidi religious minority and oversaw terror group's global operations. The slain IS 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 an offering million dollars of reward for information that leads to al-Qurashi's capture.