Hours after multiple reports contradicted official statements from the WhiteHouse and Pentagon regarding the Special forces operation to eliminate ISIS terrorist leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraysh in Syria, the White House has released information confirming that Al-Qurayshi died after detonating a suicide bomb that also killed members of his family as U.S. forces closed in. This is what it looks like when the Pentagon bungles a hit job.
The badly botched operation took place over the course of nearly three hours, going on far longer than an operation targeting a single individual with what Biden called “signature preparation and precision” should entail. There were far greater civilian casualties than “every precaution possible” to minimize them would seem to allow for with six women and four children reportedly killed and the loss of a $930 million attack helicopter due to a mechanical or engineering casualty during the mission.
The UK Times wrote that,
“According to reports from witnesses, he refused an initial order to surrender. In the subsequent fighting, the house was blasted with explosives and in total 13 people were killed, including four women and six children.”
Biden Bungles Another Military Operation
All of this speaks to a poorly planned operation, and an alarming lack of operational readiness only prevented from being a catastrophe by the bravery and ingenuity of our special forces. In short: it was FUBAR.
Al-Aan TV reporter Jenan Mousse reported that “Acc[ording] to eye witnesses, an Iraqi speaker who was with the Americans shouted through a loudspeaker during Atmeh raid: ‘You have 15 minutes to surrender & get out of the house.’ However occupants refused & a gun battle erupted,”
“Despite the first news that US forces had killed the ISIS leader, details soon revealed that he blew himself up before the US strikes.
A senior US administration official said al-Qurashi died at the beginning of the operation when he detonated a bomb that killed him and his family, including women and children.
The official stated that Al-Quraishi used a hand grenade, and it was not confirmed until now whether the leader committed suicide, or that he blew himself up by mistake.”
According to ZeroHedge, “Despite Pentagon spokesman John Kirby hailing the mission as “successful” in an early Thursday statement, citing “no US casualties” – already international reports are saying multiple civilians were killed in what’s already looking like a botched raid.
#BREAKING: ISIS leader al-Quraysh was killed during a raid by US special forces in Syria.
Great job. This is making the Middle East a better place! pic.twitter.com/DMqqckh6FS
— Hananya Naftali (@HananyaNaftali) February 3, 2022
The op was reported to be “months” in the planning, and defense planners, as well as the White House, allegedly knew that it would present a high-risk, potentially unpredictable and dangerous raid in the middle of a residential area, in a multi-family home with women and children present. And any honest observer can speculate that this rushed, haphazard mission was more than a little politically motivated. With his polls in the toilet, Biden needed a win, no matter how much it cost. And this one owed its limited “success” exclusively to the courage and tenacity of American troops. We can only be grateful that none of them were killed in the process.
