At Least 6 Children Dead After U.S. Forces Kill ISIS Leader In Bloody Syria Raid

The leader of ISIS has reportedly killed himself with a bomb after his troops were cornered following a bloody U.S. raid in northwestern Syria overnight, which claimed the lives of at least 13 individuals, among them, four women and six children.

President Joe Biden announced on Thursday morning that ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi detonated a suicide vest and other explosives on the third floor of the building where he had been hiding. Ultimately, the blast caused Qurayshi’s demise and several civilian casualties.

“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 POTUS said per the Daily Beast.

“Thanks to the bravery of our troops, this horrible terrorist leader is no more,” he continued. “Our forces carried out the operation with their signature preparation and precision.”

Biden said five combatants from the Syrian civil defense group the White Helmets, including Qurayshi, his deputy, and his deputy's wife, exchanged fire with U.S. troops toward the end of the operation.

To minimize civilian casualties, he appointed the special forces to carry out the pre-dawn attack on a house in the village of Atme, which had successfully taken "a major terrorist leader off the battlefield,” according to CNN.

The raid, which occurred just south of the Turkish border, also destroyed a U.S. chopper used to carry special forces troops from Erbil in Iraq.

The White House confirmed that both the President and Vice President Kamala Harris watched the raid as it unfolded, noting they witnessed the moment al-Qurayshi detonated a suicide device and threw his body outside of the building.

The American government said the death of Qurayshi "delivers a catastrophic blow to ISIS,” a milestone that accentuates their promise to eliminate terrorist threats.

Accordingly, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a briefing on Thursday that the U.S. special operations forces managed to evacuate 10 people, including eight children, from the first and second floors of the building, during the combat against the White Helmets.

Kirby detailed that the U.S. will review the operation to determine whether the American side resulted in any civilian deaths despite “strong, strong indications” that these were caused by the IS leader, The Guardian reported.