US Military Operation In Syria A Complete Success According To Pentagon
By Donald Standeford, Correspondent - Follow -
Date Published: February 3, 2022 07:53PM UTC
Last Modified: February 3, 2022 07:53PM UTC
PENTAGON - The Pentagon has put out a statement saying that the operation that was carried out in Northwest Syria to eliminate or capture Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi who the Pentagon says is the leader of ISIS was a complete success, but stated that the terrorist blew up a bomb that killed civilians, including his family, as also indicated in earlier reports From The Ground.
The statement put out by the Pentagon entitled "An Important Milestone in the Campaign Against ISIS" on February 3rd, 200 states the following:
"The military operation authorized by President Biden and carried out by the U.S. forces last night in northwest Syria has resulted in the death of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quarayshi, the leader of ISIS - a significant victory in the global fight to disrupt and dismantle ISIS.
This successful operation is a credit to our brave service members and national security professionals who understood this mission at President Biden's direction after months of careful planning. Throughout that process, the United States took extraordinaire care to protect innocent lives and prevent noncombatant casualties. ISIS however, once again revealed a disregard for human life, including that of women and children when al-Qurayshi choose to detonate a suicide bomb, killing his own family.
Al-Qurayshi, also known as Hajji Abdallah, took over ISIS in October 2019 after years of serving as a senior leader in the terrorist organization. He was known for his brutal enforcement of ISIS's vicious ideology and was a driving force behind ISIS's violent campaigns to subjugate communities and oppress perceived enemies, including the Yazidis, a religious minority in Iraq. He coordinated the group's global terror operations during a period in which ISIS expanded in geographic presence and attacks in Africa.
This operation was part of a larger mission by the members of the Global Coalition to defeat ISIS to deny ISIS's territorial control in Iraq and Syria, counter ISIS's messaging and financing, and stabilize areas that have been liberated from ISIS to prevent the group from resurging. Al-Qurayshi's death strikes a significant blow against ISIS. Now the United States and our partners in the Global Coalition to defeat ISIS will continue the effort. Our goal is the enduring defeat of ISIS and that fight continues.
Jim Inhofe, a ranking member in the Senate's armed services committee also made a statement on the operation:
"It is always a better day when there is one less terrorist. I thank our heroic special operations forces for their bravery, and I'm glad they returned home safely.
"However, this single operation is not a substitute for an effective, comprehensive counterterrorism plan for holding ISIS-K accountable for the Abbey Gate attack. In fact, it raises questions about the Biden administration's counterterrorism strategy.
"First, for many months the administration has insisted that it can effectively counter terrorists through 'over-the-horizon' operations. Last night demonstrated the importance of U.S. partnerships and presence for successful counterterrorism operations - something we no longer have in Afghanistan, where there have been zero strikes against ISIS-K since August. This is why the terrorists responsible for killing 13 U.S. service members on August 26 are still at large.
"Second, it has been suggested that the intent of this operation was to capture al-Quarayshi, rather than kill him. If so, I have many questions about whether there were law enforcement elements in this operation, and what the administration intended to do with him, or what they'll do with other dangerous terrorists that are captured on the battlefield. I have submitted these questions to the Pentagon.
