Islamic State chief blows himself up during US raid

US special forces carried out a nighttime airborne raid Thursday in northwestern Syria during which the head of the Islamic State group blew himself and his family up, the White House said.

The operation was the biggest blow to the jihadist organisation since his predecessor, the better-known Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed in a similar raid in the same region of Idlib in 2019.

“Thanks to the skill and bravery of our Armed Forces, we have taken off the battlefield Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi — the leader of ISIS,” US President Joe Biden said in a statement, using another acronym for IS.

A senior White House official speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of an address by Biden said Qurashi detonated a bomb during the raid on the house where he was staying in the town of Atme.