ISIS leader is killed in U.S. counterterrorism mission in Syria, Biden says

ISIS leader is killed in U.S. counterterrorism mission in Syria, Biden says

Transcript¹

President Biden said the counterterrorism operation took out ISIS leader Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi. Biden said all Americans returned safely. An aid group says Syrian civilians³ were killed.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

How did the United States conduct a special operations attack inside Syria? President Biden confirmed the raid today. According to the U.S., it led to the death of the leader of the Islamic State. The United States says he blew himself up, along with others, when under attack. NPR national security correspondent Greg Myre is here. He's been covering this with us all morning. Greg, welcome back.

GREG MYRE, BYLINE⁴: Hi, Steve.

INSKEEP: What is the best information you have?

MYRE: So that a little while after midnight, these U.S. special operation forces arrived by helicopter outside this cinderblock house in an area called Atma (ph). It's in northwest Syria, tucked away near the Turkish border. Lots of extremist groups have operated in this area. Now, according to witnesses on social media, the U.S. forces used loudspeakers calling on people to come out of the house; apparently⁵, they didn't. There was a lengthy⁶ standoff. Eventually, a firefight breaks out, so U.S. forces are spending a lot more time there than they would have liked to. But in the end, the ISIS leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, was killed. He took over two years ago after the U.S. killed the previous leader. Relatively⁷ little was known about him, but President Biden described him as an important figure.

INSKEEP: Of course, President Biden, the commander in chief, was the person who made the decision here, a decision not only to strike but to strike with people on the ground instead of missiles from the air. And we heard from the president this morning live here on NPR News. What struck you?

MYRE: Well, he did emphasize that the U.S. did send these special operation forces, which certainly raised the risk to the U.S. They could have carried out a drone strike on this house, which was sort of set aside for - surrounded by olive trees a little bit on its own. But Biden said the Pentagon, what - he and the Pentagon were concerned about civilian² casualties. Here's how he described al-Qurayshi's final moments.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: In a final act of desperate cowardice⁸, he, 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, taking several members of his family with him, just as his predecessor⁹ did.

INSKEEP: That's very interesting there, Greg Myre, because he says rather than face justice, as if to imply that the United States might have been willing to take him out alive. We don't know if that's the case. We're just referring to the way that the president spoke¹⁰ there. This is not our only source of information about this raid, though. The U.S. military is not the only source of information. What are you hearing from others?

MYRE: So this Syrian rescue group, the so-called White Helmets, said they reached the scene within minutes after the U.S. forces left by helicopters. They said they recovered 13 bodies, including six children and four women. They didn't specify¹¹ the other three. So we don't know how many might have been killed when al-Qurayshi blew himself up or how many might have died in the firefight. These are still early reports. New information could emerge. But it's clear Biden was aware of the risk of civilian casualties. Here's what he said.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BIDEN: Our forces carried out the operation with their signature preparation and precision, and I directed the Department of Defense¹² to take every precaution possible to minimize civilian casualties.

MYRE: And the Pentagon said there were no U.S. casualties.

INSKEEP: What is the current status of ISIS?

MYRE: Well, they don't control territory, but we've seen in recent days that they're still a dangerous group. Just a couple weeks ago, ISIS fighters attacked a prison in northeastern Syria. They tried to free hundreds of their colleagues or comrades. This fighting took 10 days, but eventually the Kurdish fighters allied¹³ with the U.S. and with some help with the U.S. retook the prison. Again, it points to the danger of ISIS, not nearly as strong as they were several years ago but still able to carry out pretty large-scale attacks.

INSKEEP: Greg, thanks very much for your reporting, really appreciate it.

MYRE: My pleasure.

INSKEEP: That's NPR's Greg Myre.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

3 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

6 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

7 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

8 cowardice   

n.胆小，怯懦

参考例句：

• His cowardice reflects on his character.他的胆怯对他的性格带来不良影响。
• His refusal to help simply pinpointed his cowardice.他拒绝帮助正显示他的胆小。

9 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

10 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

11 specify   

vt.指定，详细说明

参考例句：

• We should specify a time and a place for the meeting.我们应指定会议的时间和地点。
• Please specify what you will do.请你详述一下你将做什么。

12 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

13 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。