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Daesh leader Quraishi kills himself during Syria raid, U.S. says

Published

3 years ago

February 4, 2022

The leader of Daesh died when he blew himself and family members up during a U.S. military raid in Syria, President Joe Biden said on Thursday, dealing a blow to the jihadist group's efforts to reorganize as a guerrilla force after losing large swathes of territory.

Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Quraishi, had led Daesh since the death in 2019 of its founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was also killed when he detonated explosives during a raid by U.S. commandos.

As U.S. forces closed in on Quraishi in northwestern Syria overnight, he triggered a blast that also killed members of his own family, including children, according to Biden and U.S. officials.

The blast was so big it hurled bodies out of the three-storey building where Quraishi was and into surrounding streets in the town of Atmeh, U.S. officials said, blaming Daesh for all civilian casualties.

"Thanks to the bravery of our troops, this horrible terrorist leader is no more," Biden said in remarks at the White House.

A senior White House official said the blast was believed to have killed Quraishi, his two wives and a child on the third floor, and likely a child who was on the second floor with Quraishi's lieutenant and his wife, who were killed after firing on U.S. forces. Two additional fighters were killed after firing on U.S. helicopters, the official said.

Quraishi had been using the house and an unwitting family living on the first floor as a "protective shield," a factor that complicated planning for the raid, the official added.

The official was unable to explain the discrepancy between those numbers and those provided by Syrian rescue workers, who said at least 13 people were killed, including four women and six children.

"It's very clear from reviewing the operation in real time that the massive explosion on the third floor is what really caused the casualties," the official said.

Quraishi's death is another setback for Daesh nearly three years after its self-declared caliphate was dismantled and its fighters defeated by U.S. and Iraqi forces.

Since then, Daesh, also known as ISIS, has waged insurgent attacks in Iraq and Syria. The most recent was last month when its gunmen stormed a prison in northeastern Syria housing Daesh suspects.

Quraishi, a 45-year-old Iraqi, had remained largely in the shadows since succeeding Baghdadi who led the group when it launched a lightning expansion in 2014 that shocked the world. He was injured and lost a leg in a 2015 U.S. air strike, the U.S. official said. Daesh took control of large areas of Syria and Iraq, imposing strict Islamic rule over millions and inspiring attacks in the West.

Biden and U.S. officials described Quraishi as the "driving force" behind the 2014 genocide of minority Yazidis in northern Iraq, and said he oversaw a network of Daesh branches from Africa to Afghanistan.

"Last night's operation took a major terrorist leader off the battlefield and has sent a strong message to terrorist around the world: We will come after you and find you," Biden said.

U.S. officials have been in touch with all partners in the counter-ISIS coalition since the operation, and all were resolved to continue fighting ISIS and the threat the group posed to their countries, the White House official said.

The killing of Quraishi, also known as Haji Abdullah, helps restore some of the Biden administration's foreign policy credentials after it was widely criticized for last year's chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan.

U.S. officials expect ISIS to replace the dead leader.

Residents in Atmeh, near the Syrian-Turkish border, said helicopters landed and heavy gunfire and explosions were heard during the raid that began around midnight. U.S. forces used loudspeakers to warn women and children to leave the area, they said.

The Pentagon said 10 people were evacuated from the raid area, including children. General Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, told the Washington-based Middle East Institute that all of them were "mobile and safe" and left at the scene when U.S. forces departed.

U.S. military procedures to guard against civilian casualties are under scrutiny following a high-profile mistaken drone strike in Afghanistan that the Pentagon initially hailed a success.

BODIES IN THE RUBBLE

A video taken by a resident and seen by Reuters showed the bodies of two apparently lifeless children and a man in the rubble of a building at the location.

Other footage showed rescue workers loading what appeared to be a small body wrapped in a white plastic sheet into an ambulance. Other body bags were in the back of the vehicle.

Using head torches, the workers looked for remains through chunks of concrete, children's toys and women's clothing in the wreckage. A kitchen was blackened and burned, windows hung from their frames and plastic utensils were half melted.

Reuters could not independently verify the images.

A Syrian man who witnessed the raid said he left his house after midnight and saw aircraft in the sky.

"Ten minutes later we heard screams. 'Surrender, the house is surrounded,'" he said. "There was shelling from airplanes and machine guns."

Another witness said he saw several bodies at the scene. "There was blood everywhere," he told Reuters. He said one U.S. helicopter appeared to suffer a mechanical failure and was blown up by the U.S. forces.

Local leaders, security officials and residents in northern Iraq say Daesh has been re-emerging as a deadly threat, aided by a lack of central control in many areas.

"Quraishi's killing is a huge deal and a huge blow to ISIS because ISIS never heard from this new leader," Syria analyst Hassan Hassan said. "ISIS will continue to be weak and under pressure as long as the Americans are on the ground in Iraq and Syria."

Quraishi was hiding out in a region of Syria that is home to several militant groups including an al Qaeda-affiliated faction whose leaders include foreign fighters.

U.S. forces have for years used drones to target jihadists in the area, but Thursday's operation appeared to be the largest by U.S. forces in the northwest since the raid that killed al-Baghdadi, said Charles Lister, senior fellow with the Washington-based Middle East Institute.

Beyond Quraishi, who was once held in U.S. custody, little is known of the group's top levels - partly because it now operates in a secretive structure of autonomous local cells, rather than the centralised administration of the 'caliphate'.

The U.S.-led coalition fighting Daesh said in mid-2019, after the group's battlefield defeat, that it retained 14,000 to 18,000 members, including 3,000 foreigners, though precise numbers are as elusive as the group itself.

Analysts say many local fighters may have slipped back into normal life, ready to re-emerge when the opportunity emerges.

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There should be no distance between media and government: Stanikzai

Published

5 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Ariana News

Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the political deputy minister of foreign affairs, says media outlets should be supported in a way that there is no distance between them and the government.

Stanikzai, speaking at a seminar titled "The Role of Media in Strengthening the Islamic System" in Kabul, added that the media plays a crucial role in global propaganda wars, and it is necessary for the IEA to cease exerting pressure on the country's media and allow them to freely play their role in the development and prosperity of the country.

"The problems of the media should be heard, their voices should be heard, and the environment should be conducive for them to carry out their work freely,” he stated.

He further emphasized that the views towards the country's media should be such that both sides do not view each other as strangers, and the IEA should refrain from exerting pressure on the media and allow them to operate with freedom.

Meanwhile, officials from the Ministry of Information and Culture also stated at the seminar that they have not adopted an approach of confrontation with the media and that the ministry is committed to collaborating with them.

Participants in the seminar also urged the media to spare no effort in reflecting a positive image of Afghanistan to the world.

This seminar was held at a time the media considers itself committed to freedom of expression and reporting activities within the framework of national interests and Islamic values.

Latest News

DABS signs contract to purchase electricity from Uzbekistan for 2025

Published

5 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Ariana News

Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) has announced that a contract for the purchase of electricity from Uzbekistan has been signed for the year 2025.

This agreement was signed following a visit by an Islamic Emirate delegation, led by DABS CEO Abdul Bari Omari to Tashkent, where they engaged in discussions with Uzbek officials.

"The General Director of Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat, along with a delegation, traveled to Uzbekistan and signed the electricity purchase agreement for 2025 during a meeting with officials from the Uzbek electricity sector,” said DABS spokesman Hekmatullah Maiwandi.

Meanwhile, some investors have urged IEA to engage with Uzbekistan regarding the 500-kilovolt electricity project and to ensure the swift completion of this project.

Once completed, the project is expected to alleviate some of the electricity shortages in the country.

Tajikistan agreement

Late last month, Tajikistan's national electric power company, Barqi Tojik, and DABS signed a similar agreement, which will see Tajikistan supply Afghanistan with power through 2025.

The signing ceremony was attended by Mahmadumar Asozoda, General Director of Barqi Tojik, Omar.

According to Barqi Tojik's press secretary, Kurbon Ahmadzoda, the agreement is expected to be extended annually until 2028.

However, the electricity export will reportedly be limited to the summer months, from May to September, and will be dependent on the availability of electricity within Tajikistan's domestic market, Tajik media reported at the time.

Powering a future

Afghanistan currently produces only 20% of its energy needs, while 80% of its electricity is imported from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Iran.

The Islamic Emirate has however made it a priority to encourage domestic production of power since regaining control in August 2021.

Omar has met with potential investors on numerous occasions and has encouraged them to invest in the sector.

One such meeting was held in August with officials from Bayat Power.

Bayat Power is Afghanistan’s largest private Electric Power Production and Development Company and owns and operates Bayat Power-1, the first in a new generation of Gas to Electricity power generation plants.

Bayat Power is hoping to start work soon on Phase 2 of Bayat Power-1 in northern Jawzjan province in order to increase electricity production output for Afghanistan.

Mohammad Shoaib Sahibzada, the technical head of Bayat Power, has said that once Phase 2 is complete, electricity production will increase from 40 to 100 megawatts.

Sahibzada said Bayat Power's natural gas to electricity generation project will eventually produce up to 250 megawatts of electricity once Phase 3 is complete.

Bayat Power has produced over one billion kilowatt hours of electricity in just under five years after starting commercial operations in late 2019.

Sahibzada said that over the past five years, the company has also worked on capacity building of its technical employees.

Leading the way

Bayat Power is the first private company in 40 years to produce electricity from natural gas in the country and the multi-million dollar plant uses Siemens Energy’s SGT-A45 mobile gas turbine for its economic efficiency, flexible deployment, and power density.

Currently providing electricity to hundreds of thousands of end-users and generating more than 300 million kWh annually, the project was structured as an innovative public-private partnership between Bayat Power, Siemens Energy, and Afghanistan government entities such as the

Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, the Ministry of Energy and Water, and the General Directorate of Afghan Gas Corporation Company, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), and international partners.

The Bayat Group is the largest private investor in Afghanistan and Bayat Power is currently the only gas-powered plant in the country.

The Siemens Energy’s SGT-A45 mobile gas turbine used by the company is the only one in operation in the world.

Latest News

ATN’s hat-trick! Rights in place to broadcast ICC World Test Championship 2023/25 Final

Published

8 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Ariana News

Ariana Television and Radio Network (ATN) has done it again! This time it secured the rights to broadcast the ICC World Test Championship 2023/25 Final in Afghanistan.

The 2023–2025 ICC World Test Championship is an ongoing tournament of Test Cricket which is the third edition of the ICC World Test Championship.

This event started in June 2023 with The Ashes, which was contested between England and Australia. It will finish in June 2025 with the final match planned to be played at Lord's in London.

The tournament consists of 27 series and 69 matches in the league stage between nine countries. The top two teams in the points table will compete at the final.

Current State of Play

A draw this week in the third Test between Australia and India has spiced up the race to the World Test Championship Final especially as Australia and India continue to play catch-up with South Africa after the rain-truncated third Test in Brisbane ended in a stalemate.

South Africa had to dig deep against Sri Lanka recently, but a standout all-round performance helped them secure a series win and pushed them to the top of the standings, placing them as the front-runners for the WTC25 Final at Lord’s.

Alongside South Africa, Australia and India, Sri Lanka remains the only other team in contention for a WTC25 Final spot. However, they will need a string of favorable results - including a successful showing in their upcoming two-match series against Australia in January - to keep their hopes alive.

South Africa is top of the standings with a PCT of 63.33. They need to win one out of their two upcoming tests against Pakistan to reach their maiden ICC WTC final.

Australia and India are in second and third place respectively.

India has a PCT of 55.88 and two tests left, both of which they need to win to secure a place in the final.

Australia’s PCT is 58.89. After two tests against India. They have two more tests in Sri Lanka.

For cricket fans across the country, make sure you follow us on social media, and watch this spot, for updates and announcements on this event - along with other exciting tournaments coming up next year that Ariana Television will be bringing to you live and exclusively in Afghanistan.