According to John Kirby, Pentagon press secretary, the pre-dawn raid that killed Ibrahim al-Hashimi al–Qurayshi on Thursday was intended to capture ISIS leader alive.
In an interview with Morning Edition hosts Rachel Martin and Steve Inskeep, Kirby stated that the U.S. operation against al-Qurayshi in northern Syria took two hours. This is more than double the time it took for U.S. forces to attack Osama Bin Laden’s compound. He said that there was an innocent family living on the first floor in al-Qurayshi’s building. He said, “We wanted them to get out safely.”
Kirby stated that the U.S. had hoped to capture Abdullah alive, and that it would take some effort to do so.
Based on forensic evidence, the U.S. believes that al-Qurayshi has died.
Kirby stated that they were able to take fingerprints from the victim’s body and then compare them right away, before they left the site. He said DNA analysis was also done “that confirmed it”. U.S. officials are yet to decide whether to release video evidence. We’re still working on that. He said that he believes that it is possible and appropriate to do so.
Kirby also discussed the claims that Russia would launch a false flag attack
Kirby stated that U.S. intelligence believes Russia plans to “manufacture atrocity” to justify its invasion of Ukraine. According to Kirby, intelligence officials believe Russia would “manufacture an atrocity,” an event, a killing or a mass killing. They would use a video to show bodies on the ground. Perhaps they would take out corpses from other places, mortuaries, or something similar. Kirby stated that the Russians would use actors to act as mourners, and possibly stage imagery of military equipment so it would appear like it was Ukrainian.
Russia is believed to have over 100,000 troops on its border with Ukraine.
Kirby asked Kirby what evidence the U.S. has to prove Russia staged a false flag operation in order to justify its entry into Ukraine. Kirby replied, “If there were a way to accomplish this, and that wouldn’t reveal how it works, I think, you can guess, we’d be willing to consider that.” We don’t want the Russians to necessarily know what we know. These comments echo the words of Ned Price, spokesperson for the State Department, when asked Thursday for evidence that Russia was attempting a false-flag attack.
