Biden boasts no US casualties in illegal attack in Syria, blames Daesh for killing family

US President Joe Biden has claimed that an American military raid in Syria on Wednesday night killed the leader of the Daesh terrorist group, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, and celebrated that no American died in the operation. Local residents reported a number of Syrian women and children died in the strike. 

“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,” Biden said in a statement on Thursday.

“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 (Daesh). All Americans have returned safely from the operation,” Biden added.

The Pentagon disclosed the raid by US special operations forces on Wednesday night, calling it "successful" because there were no American casualties.

Residents in the city of Atmeh, located close to Syria's border with Turkey, said that helicopters were flying overhead and gunfire lasted more than two hours.

The New York Times reported that one helicopter was destroyed by an American attack aircraft after it experienced mechanical problems.

Civilians, including children, killed in US special operations raid in Syria

Helicopter-borne US special operations troops carry out a commando assault in Syria’s northwestern Idlib Province, killing at least 13 people.

Biden blames Daesh leader for killing family

Speaking at the White House on Thursday, Biden blamed the Daesh leader for killing members of his family by blowing himself up as American troops closed in on his home in Syria. 

“We do know that as our troops approached to capture the terrorist, in a final act of desperate cowardness, with no regard to the lives of his own families or others in the building, he chose to blow himself up,” Biden said.

“Not just at the vest but to 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,” he added.

“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 to our own people, rather than targeting him with an airstrike,” he said.

An advocacy group, citing residents, reported the deaths of 13 people, including four children and three women.

"#SOHR confirms that only US command and forces participating in this operation know the identities of the targeted individuals. However, the deaths of 13 people, including four children and three women, have been verified and confirmed," said the organization.

Jamil el-Deddo, a resident of a nearby refugee camp, told the AP that "the first moments were terrifying."

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