‘Barrage of attacks’: Civilians killed in US raid in Syria
Six children and four women among 13 people killed as US special operations forces launch raid in Idlib province, first responders say.
Atmeh, Syria – At least 13 people, including six children, have been killed during a United States special operations forces raid in Syria’s rebel-held Idlib province, according to residents and first responders.
The overnight raid targeted a building in Atmeh, a densely populated town in northwest Syria near the Turkish border, where tens of thousands of people displaced by the country’s decade-long war live.
US President Joe Biden said the raid targeted the leader or ISIL (ISIS), Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi.
“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. All Americans have returned safely from the operation,” Biden said in a statement on Thursday.
Abu Fahed al-Homsi, a displaced Syrian who lives a block away from the site of the attack, told Al Jazeera that his family was awoken in the early hours.
“We woke up at 1am to the sound of helicopters … and then at around 3am we heard a barrage of attacks,” he said.
“We saw a house that was targeted and damaged roads, but we still have no idea what was going on.”
Residents said the helicopters were hovering over the building for more than two hours, before attacking it. The US special forces then carried out a landing operation and stormed the house.
Mahmoud Chehadi, who lives nearby, said the US forces had surrounded the targeted building and used loudspeakers to call on its residents to leave the area.
“When the operation ended, we went to the area and saw a woman who apparently detonated an explosive vest, and inside the building, we saw some bodies, including [that of] a man and a child,” he told Al Jazeera.
The Syrian Civil Defense, a volunteer rescue group operating in rebel-held parts of Syria that is also known as White Helmets, said in a statement at least 13 people were killed, including four women.
Local activists and residents quoted by news agencies said fighters in the area clashed with US forces.
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