After announcing the death of Islamic State leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi — who the U.S. killed during an overnight raid in Syria — President Biden issued formal remarks on the mission during a Thursday morning address.
"Last night's operation took a major terrorist leader off the battlefield, and it sent a strong message to terrorists around the world: We will come after you and find you," Biden said.
"Once again today, we continue our unceasing effort to keep the American people safe, and the strength and security of our allies and partners around the world," he continued.
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Biden had previously confirmed that all Americans "returned safely from the operation." Though there were no U.S. casualties, four women and six children were reportedly killed, per The Associated Press.
During his remarks, the president also noted that U.S. troops opted to target al-Qurayshi with a special forces raid "at a much greater risk to our own people" rather than an airstrike. "We made this choice to minimize civilian casualties," Biden said.
In what the president described as "a final act of desperate cowardice," the ISIS leader died "by exploding a bomb that killed himself and members of his family ... as U.S. forces approached."
A senior administration official told NPR that "all casualties at the site were due to the acts of ISIS terrorists."
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