The US President took every possible precautionary measure to minimise civilian casualties in today's counter-terrorism raid by US Special Forces in northwestern Syria in which the leader of the Islamic State was killed.
Speaking from the White House, Biden said that Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Quraishi chose to blow himself up by taking a cowardly action, and added that his administration would continue to work with partners to keep the pressure on ISIS.
“In a desperate last-ditch act of cowardice and with no regard for the lives of his own family or other people in the building, he chose to blow himself up, detonating not only the explosives he was armed with but blowing up this third floor...rather than face justice for the crimes he committed, taking several members of his family with him, as his predecessor had done,” Biden said.
The United States “eliminated a major terrorist threat. The leader of the Islamic State was blown up in “a last act of cowardice,” he said in his brief speech.
The US president said that he preferred to have the operation carried out by commandos in order to avoid civilian casualties.
Biden was the first to be briefed on the Syria operation a month ago and gave the final go-ahead for the mission on Tuesday morning, senior US administration officials said.
The IS leader's wife and children are among those killed when al-Qurayshi detonated his bomb, officials said, adding that the US helicopter suffered mechanical failure during the operation in Syria and was destroyed on the ground.
The IS leader's blast was so big that “bodies were blown out of the house and into the surrounding areas,” an official said.
An ISIS lieutenant and his wife who had barricaded themselves on the second floor of the building were killed during the operation, officials said.
The IS leader detonated the bomb that killed him and a number of civilians, including members of his family, officials said. U.S. forces successfully evacuated civilians from the first floor of the building before the ISIS leader detonated his bomb.
