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Transcript/ScriptUS – IS – Syria
HEADLINE: ISIS Leader Dead Following US Raid in Syria
TEASER: No American troops were killed or wounded
PUBLISHED AT: Thursday, 02/03/2022
BYLINE: Carla Babb
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Pentagon
VIDEOGRAPHER:
VIDEO EDITOR/PRODUCER: Barry Unger
SCRIPT EDITORS: BR, MAS, DJones
VIDEO SOURCE (S): AP, DOD, see courtesies
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV __ RADIO __
TRT: 2:24
VID APPROVED BY: Holly Franko
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi is name Aru & Jeff agreed upon to call the IS leader for the TV piece. He was known by different names, and that is mentioned in the body of the script. BR
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((ANCHOR INTRO))
[[ The leader of the Islamic State terror group died Thursday during a raid by U.S. special operations forces in northwestern Syria. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb has more on the operation that eliminated Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, who blew up himself and his family to avoid capture.]]
((NARRATOR))
Islamic State leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi was taken out Thursday at his house in northwest Syria, as President Joe Biden watched the daring operation from the White House.
((President Joe Biden))
“Knowing that this terrorist had chosen to surround himself with families, including children, we made a choice to pursue a Special Forces raid at a much greater risk to our own people rather than targeting him with an airstrike. We made this choice to minimize civilian casualties.”
((NARRATOR))
U.S. officials say troops called out for civilians to get out of the building, safely removing a couple and their four children from the first floor before an explosion ripped through the walls of the top floor.
((President Joe Biden))
“In a final act of desperate cowardice, with no regard to the lives of his own family or others in the building, he chose to blow himself up, not just with a vest, but to blow up that third floor rather than face justice for the crimes he has committed.”
((NARRATOR))
The blast was so powerful the military says bodies flew out of the building. Fingerprints and DNA analysis showed Qurashi died, along with his wife and two children. But the danger didn’t end there.
((Gen. Frank McKenzie, U.S. Central Command Chief))
“Two barricaded combatants hiding among children began firing at U.S. forces. In this engagement, one child was found dead along with two combatants, the two combatants - one male and one female. After neutralizing this threat, U.S. forces saved four additional children, including an infant child on the second floor.”
((NARRATOR))
((Courtesy Department of Defense))
McKenzie said the mission ended as armed fighters associated with al-Qaida started moving in. No American troops were killed or wounded.
((NARRATOR))
But the Pentagon says a mechanical failure on one of the helicopters forced troops to land it away from the site and blow it up to prevent enemy access to it.
Known by several names, Qurashi led Islamic State for more than two years and is reported to have orchestrated the Hasakah prison attack last month. He was in charge when Islamic State’s Afghan affiliate carried out the deadly Kabul airport attack last year – and prior to his leadership was also a driving force behind the enslavement, rape and murder of countless Yazidis in Iraq.
((John Kirby, Pentagon Press Secretary))
“He was a hands-on kind of leader. // This is a man that we should all be happy is no longer walking on the face of the earth.”
((NARRATOR))
U.S. officials called his death a significant blow to the terror group.
CARLA BABB, VOA NEWS, THE PENTAGON
NewsML Media TopicsDisaster, Accident and Emergency Incident, Crime, Law and Justice, Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
Topic TagsISIS Leader Dead Following US Raid in Syria
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateFebruary 3, 2022 23:56 EST
BylineCarla Babb
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English