A Syrian official said the United States had violated international law when
carrying out the attack that led to the death of Islamic State (ISIS)
militant leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi.
"The recent US attack is another flagrant violation of Syria's sovereignty,
unity and territorial integrity, as it was carried out on Syrian soil
without the coordination or approval of the Syrian government," said Aliaa
Ali, the third secretary of Syria's permanent mission to the United Nations.
Newsweek, Friday (4/2/2022).
Ali said claims of eliminating ISIS over the past few years, without
actually being eliminated, proves that the US is using the pretext of
fighting terrorism to achieve its hostile agenda towards Syria.
He referred to media outlet reports belonging to the Syrian government and
opposition and activists on the ground that at least 13 people were killed,
including civilians.
"Such attacks that result in civilian casualties, including women and
children, require accountability and avoid impunity," he said.
"Ironically, the US Department of Defense claimed in a statement that
'Special Forces carried out a successful mission in Idlib'."
As previously reported, US special forces have launched a counterterrorism
operation in the village of Atmeh, Syria. The Pentagon said the operation
was a success and there were no US casualties.
US President Joe Biden stated that the operation succeeded in killing ISIS
leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, also known as Haji Abdullah.
Shortly after Biden broke news of Qurayshi's death a senior government
official confirmed reports of civilian casualties but said it was caused by
ISIS leaders who blew themselves up, such as his predecessor, Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi, when cornered by US forces in Idlib in October 2019.
This time, the explosion is said to have struck an innocent family who was
in his safe building in the village of Atmeh.
"Unfortunately, ISIS has once again demonstrated its savagery and in a final
act of cowardice and disregard for human life, Haji Abdullah detonated an
explosion, a significant explosion which killed himself and several others,
including his wife and children," the senior government official said. .
The explosion was reportedly powerful enough to push the body off the
structure, leaving the gruesome scene widely shared on social media.
"All the victims at the site were due to the acts of ISIS terrorists and
inside the residence, including Haji Abdullah, who started his job,
destroyed most of the third floor," the senior government official added.
"A colleague of Haji Abdullah, another ISIS terrorist and an ISIS
lieutenant, barricaded himself and his own family members on the second
floor. He and his wife were involved in the attack. They were killed in the
operation," he added.
The Syrian Civil Defence, a rescue group also known as the White Helmets
operating in rebel-held areas of the country, responded to the incident at
the scene.
Spokesman Mohammad al-Shebli told Newsweek that his personnel waited three
hours before a US military helicopter left the area to deal with the dead
and wounded.
"Our team rescued a girl who was injured, all her family members were killed
in the airstrike, and other people who were injured in the clashes
approached the landing site to see what happened," Shebli said.
"Our team recovered the bodies of at least 13 people who died in the
shelling and clashes that occurred after the landing operation, including 6
children and 4 women, and our team handed over two bodies to forensic
medicine in the city of Idlib."
Shebli did not identify the victims or provide any clues as to who killed
them. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based monitor
with links to the exiled Syrian opposition, is also closely following the
operation as it unfolds.
In its latest report published Thursday, the monitor also said 13 people had
died, including four women and three children, with three other bodies said
to be unrecognizable as a result of the massacre.
SOHR said at least one of the dead was a member of the militant group, Hayat
Tahrir al-Sham, which wields influence in large parts of Idlib.
The report appears to match reports by senior US government officials who
told reporters that US troops faced enemy fire from the group, triggering
retaliatory fire that killed at least two fighters.
