U.S. Commandos conducted a pre-dawn raid in Syria Thursday morning that resulted in the death of the leader of the Islamic State, according to President Joe Biden.

The terrorist leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, detonated a bomb during the raid that killed him and members of his family, including women and children, according to a senior administration official who spoke with The New York Times.

Rescue workers said at least 13 people perished in the altercation.

Biden said Thursday morning that he instructed U.S. forces to “take every precaution available to minimize civilian casualties.” He said an airstrike was ruled out in order to limit collateral damage. 

“Thanks to the skill and bravery of our armed forces, we have taken off the battlefield Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi — the leader of ISIS,” Biden said in a statement. “All Americans have returned safely from the operation.”

Biden, Vice President Harris, and senior national security officials monitored the raid via livestream in the White House’s Situation Room, according to The Associated Press. 

The Times reports:

The helicopter-borne assault carried out by about two dozen American commandos, backed by helicopter gunships, armed Reaper drones and attack jets, resembled the raid in October 2019 in which Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the previous leader of the Islamic State, died when he detonated a suicide vest as U.S. forces raided in hide-out not far from where Thursday’s operation took place.

The airborne raid came days after the end of the largest U.S. combat involvement with the Islamic State since the end of the jihadists’ so-called caliphate three years ago. American forces backed a Kurdish-led militia in northeastern Syria as it fought for more than a week to oust Islamic State fighters from a prison they had occupied in the city of Hasaka.

The Associated Press adds:

Al-Qurayshi had kept an extremely low profile since he took over leadership of the Islamic State. He had not appeared in public, and rarely released any audio recordings. His influence and day-to-day involvement in the group’s operations was not known and it is difficult to gauge how his death will affect the group.

His killing, however, is a significant blow just as the group had been trying to reassert itself in Syria and Iraq.