President Joe Biden said on Thursday that a nighttime raid by US special forces in northwestern Syria  resulted in the death of the leader of the Islamic State terrorist group, Abu Ibrahim alHashimi alQurayshi, in one of the most serious counterterrorism operations of his presidency. During the operation, alQurayshi allegedly caused an explosion that killed him, his wife, and two children, an explosion so powerful that bodies were thrown outside the house. An alQurayshi congressman and his wife were also killed after attacking US forces, the official said. There were no American casualties.

AlQurayshi was named the leader of ISIS  in October 2019 after his predecessor, Abu Bakr alBaghdadi, was killed in a US raid in the same area earlier that month. US officials say he has directly overseen ISIS activities in Iraq and Syria, and the group has sought to restructure itself under his leadership. Biden said alQurayshi was responsible for the recent attack on a Syrian prison, holding Islamic State fighters. The campaign lasted months, with Biden regularly updating the planning process, including a detailed meeting in December explaining where alQurayshi was hiding and the intricacies of running the campaign against civilians living in the house, the official said.

On Tuesday morning, Biden gave the final green light to the two-hour operation and watched developments in real time Wednesday night in the Situation Room, with Vice President Kamala Harris and members of his national security team. Biden said the campaign was designed to minimize civilian casualties, with US forces choosing to conduct a raid, putting troops in greater danger, as opposed to an air raid. One family was evacuated before the raid and four children were removed from the site after the raid, the official said.