Drone video taken Feb. 3, 2022, shows the extent of the damage to a building caused during a counterterrorism mission conducted by U.S. forces in northern Syria.
READ MORE: Months after U.S. intelligence operatives tracked the leader of the Islamic State terror group to a non-descript residential building in northwest Syria, Amir Muhammad Sa'id Abdal-Rahman al-Mawla, detonated an explosive, killing himself and his family while U.S. forces closed in.
The account of the IS leader's death Thursday, from senior U.S. administration officials, came hours after reports of a major U.S. counterterrorism operation first began to emerge from Atmeh, a town in Syria's Idlib province, not far from the border with Turkey.
Accounts on social media described helicopters and U.S. forces descending on the three-story building as part of a hourslong operation, with some saying U.S. forces used loudspeakers to get civilians out of the building before an intense firefight erupted.
But the U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the operation in detail, said most of the death and destruction was caused by al-Mawla, also known as Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi and as Hajji 'Abdallah, and one of his lieutenants who also lived in the building, and were determined not to be taken alive.
"In a final act of cowardice and disregard for human life, Hajji 'Abdallah detonated a blast, a significant blast killing himself and several others, including his wife and children," one of the officials said during a call with reporters. "The blast was so large on the third floor that it blew bodies outside of the house and into the surrounding areas."
The IS lieutenant, U.S. officials said, then proceeded to barricade himself with his wife and family on the second floor and engaged U.S. forces before being killed.
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