ISIS Leader Dead After Compound Raided, Biden Admin Confirms

(Anti-ISIS Operation Room via AP)

There’s one less ISIS leader in the world according to the Biden Administration, which said on Thursday morning that a raid on the terrorist group’s compound resulted in the leader blowing himself up, resulting in innocent casualties.

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According to ABC News, President Joe Biden announced from the White House that the overnight raid in Syria resulted in the death of Haji Abdullah, a leader of ISIS that took over in 2019, after the death of Al Baghdadi under the direction of President Donald Trump.

“Last night, operating on my orders, the United States military forces successfully removed in a major terrorist threat to the world, the global leader of ISIS, known as Haji Abdullah. He took over as leader of ISIS in 2019 after the United States counterterrorism operation killed Al Baghdadi,” Biden announced. “Thanks to the bravery of our troops, this horrible terrorist leader is no more.”

Biden gave details about the raid and explained that the ISIS leader decided to take his own life surrounded by women and children using an explosive device, killing him and everyone around him:

“Knowing that this terrorist had chosen to surround himself with families, including children, we made a choice to pursue a Special Forces raid at a much greater risk than our to our own people rather than targeting him with an airstrike,” Biden said. “We made this choice to minimize civilian casualties.”

“We do know that as our troops approached to capture the terrorist — in a final act of desperate cowardice he, with no regard to the lives of his own family or others in the building, he chose to blow himself up — not just in the vest but the blow-up that third floor, rather than face justice for the crimes he has committed, taking several members of his family with him. Just as his predecessor did,” Biden said, describing the raid.

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According to the Pentagon, the mission in Syria came at the cost of a helicopter that experienced mechanical problems and was destroyed on the ground by U.S. special forces:

“U.S. Special Operations forces under the control of U.S. Central Command conducted a counterterrorism mission this evening in northwest Syria. The mission was successful. There were no U.S. casualties,” said John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, in a statement. “More information will be provided as it becomes available.”

One of the helicopters used in the mission experienced a mechanical problem and then had to be blown up on the ground by U.S. forces, according to a U.S. official.

The Associated Press reported that residents did hear helicopters, explosions, and gunfire in the area. They also witnessed body parts around a house with a completely demolished upper story, surrounded by rubble.

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