American troops landed in helicopters and clashed for hours with gunmen, witnesses said. Residents described continuous gunfire and explosions that jolted the town of Atmeh near the Turkish border, an area dotted with camps for internally displaced people from Syria’s civil war.
Due to the
latest news, the witnesses living in the same village as Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi
al-Qurayshi, have told how US special forces carried out a three-hour raid to
take out the Islamic State leader.
Al-Qurayshi’s
death was announced by US President Joe Biden on Thursday, hours after US
commandoes attacked an address in Atmeh, northwestern Syria. The deadly
overnight raid led to other casualties, with first responders telling The
Independent that 13 people had been killed, including six children and four
women.
According to
witness……
“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,” Mr Biden said in a
statement.
He said
all Americans involved in the operation returned safely and that the US had
worked to minimise casualties.
The
opposition-run Syrian Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets, said the victims
were killed in shelling and a battle that followed after the US commando raid.
They said
that the raid went on for three hours and they managed to rescue an injured
child whose entire family had been killed in the operation.
Footage
apparently taken at the scene showed men digging through the rubble of a
partially destroyed three-storey house.
In another
clip shared online, that was purportedly taken nearby showed rescuers carrying
an injured girl.
Residents
of Atmeh said they heard helicopters circling overhead before soldiers alighted
and US forces began their raid which resulted in a several hour battle.
Terrified
and alone with her mother and sister, Sima, 22 (not her real name) said they
moved away from the windows as a precaution.
“We heard
a voice from loudspeakers saying the woman and children should get out of the
house that was being targeted. But we didn’t know which house was the target,”
she said sharing audio she recorded of the helicopters and her panicked
relatives.
“We heard
the sound of clashes and fighting. First the aircraft, then the sound of
shelling then at 2am what sounded like machine guns from the helicopter. It
went on until past 3 o’clock”.
She said
that they also heard what sounded like six airstrikes. Her family, who are
internally displaced from another part of Syria, did not know who was living in
the three-storey house that had been hit.
“Most of
the second floor is now missing, inside there was a lot of destruction,” she
said. Videos taken from the scene and shared online showed blood-smeared walls.
An Iraqi
intelligence official, who had knowledge of the raid told The Independent, that
al-Qurashi blew up a suicide belt he was wearing.
The
official, who could not be named as he is not authorised to speak to the media,
said that Iraqi intelligence services had played a “pivotal” role in the
attack.
“About
seven aircraft were used including drones and a helicopter,” he added. “Qurashi
barricaded himself in using his family,” he added.
The raid
was in an area largely controlled by Turkish-backed fighters but is also an
al-Qaeda stronghold and home to several of its top operatives. Other militants,
including extremists from the rival Isis group, have also sought refuge in the
region.
Jamil
el-Deddo, a resident of a nearby refugee camp told The Associated Press that
the first moments were “terrifying, no one knew what was happening”.
"We
were worried it could be Syrian aircraft, which brought back memories of barrel
bombs that used to be dropped on us," he added, referring to crude
explosives-filled containers used by President Bashar Assad’s forces against
opponents during the Syrian conflict.
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