穏やかな隣人がＩＳ最高指導者、住民驚き　シリア

【アトメＡＦＰ＝時事】シリア北西部イドリブ県アトメに住むマハムード・シェハデさんは、米軍のヘリコプターの飛行音を聞き、嵐が来たのかと勘違いした。３日午前０時３０分ごろ、空模様を確認しようと屋外に出ると仰天した。複数のヘリが隣家を囲み、上空からスピーカーで住人に呼び掛けていたのだ。（写真はシリア北西部イドリブ県アトメで、米軍特殊部隊が襲撃した現場）
　アトメには、イスラム過激派組織「イスラム国（ＩＳ）」最高指導者のアブイブラヒム・ハシミ・クラシ容疑者が潜伏していた。
　シェハデさんはＡＦＰに対し、「頭上を航空機が飛んでいた。その１０分後、（１人の女性に）『投降せよ、この家は包囲されている』と大声で呼び掛けていた」と話す。米軍の特殊部隊が急襲作戦を実行し、クラシ容疑者が自爆して死亡した直後のことだ。女性が投降したかは分からないという。
　アトメの住民たちは、武装ヘリの銃撃音を耳にした。銃撃が２時間ほど続いた後、米主導の特殊部隊がクラシ容疑者の家に突入した。
　オリーブの木に囲まれた質素な家に住む隣人が実はＩＳの最高指導者だったと知り、住民たちは衝撃を受けた。
　最重要指名手配犯の一人であるクラシ容疑者は、１階に妻と子ども３人と住み、２階には妹とその娘が住んでいた。
　家主のモハメド・シェイクさんも驚いた一人だ。クラシ容疑者をタクシー運転手だと思い込んでいた。
　特殊部隊が突入した後の映像には、２階から黒い煙が立ち上り、屋根の一部が崩れ、壁や床には血が飛び散っている様子が捉えられている。
　ジョー・バイデン米大統領はテレビ演説で、クラシ容疑者は作戦中に自爆し、女性と子どもを含む家族を道連れにしたと述べた。
　家主のシェイクさんによると、クラシ容疑者は１１か月前からこの家に住んでいて、いつも自分で家賃を支払いに来た。「おかしなところはなかった」という。
　最後に見掛けたのは、シェイクさんが家の近くでオリーブの実を収穫している時だった。クラシ容疑者がコーヒーを持ってきて、座って話をしたという。
　いつも同じズボンにシャツ、ベスト、そしてヘッドスカーフを身に着けていたクラシ容疑者のイメージは「穏やかでおおらかで快活な人」だったという。
　クラシ容疑者は「破壊者」の異名を取り、残虐なことで知られた。２０１４年にＩＳがイラクで少数民族ヤジディーの人々を大勢殺害し、奴隷にした際に主要な役割を果たした。
　物腰は落ち着いていて、地元住民に正体を疑う人はいなかった。
　しかし、クラシ容疑者の正体が明らかになった今、シェイクさんは家が破壊されたことに怒りを隠さない。「正体を知っていたら、絶対に家に住まわせなかったのに」と話した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】

〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/02/07-12:04）

When US forces flew over the Syrian town of Atme, where the leader of the Islamic State group was hiding, resident Mahmoud Shehadeh mistook the sound of helicopters for a storm.
What he saw as he stepped outside to check on the weather shocked him. Just half an hour into Thursday, several helicopters had surrounded a neighbouring house, their loudspeakers blaring messages to residents.
We saw aircraft flying over our heads and after ten minutes we heard them shouting (to a woman): 'turn yourself in, the house is surrounded', Mahmoud told AFP, shortly after the US-led operation during which IS chief Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi blew himself up.
I don't know whether she surrendered or not.
Residents of Atme, a Syrian town in the northwestern Idlib region bordering Turkey, heard shooting and fire from the gunships.
This went on for about two hours before the elite US-led forces stormed Qurashi's house.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor had said civilians were among at least 13 people killed in the operation.
When the landing began, residents thought US forces were targeting an Al-Qaeda leader.
US special forces have carried out several operations against high-value jihadist targets in the Idlib area in recent months.
The area, the last enclave to actively oppose the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, is home to more than three million people and is dominated by jihadists.
Abu Ali, a displaced Syrian who lives nearby who declined to give his full name for security reasons, said the US blasted messages to reassure residents.
He heard American forces say 'don't worry. We're just coming to this house... to rid you of the terrorists'.
- A cab driver -
Atme residents were shocked to hear that their neighbour in the modest two-storey house surrounded by olive trees was in fact the leader of IS.
One of the world's most wanted men, he was living there with his family and his sister.
Even his landlord, Mohamed al-Sheikh, was perplexed by the news. He thought he had leased the house to a cab driver.
AFP correspondents shot photographs of the house that show a simple room with little more than foam mattresses, blankets, colourful clothes and children's toys.
Footage of the house after the operation showed a black plume of smoke billowing out of the first floor, towards the partially collapsed rooftop. In the next room, blood was splattered on the wall and the floor.
Recounting the operation in a televised address, US President Joe Biden said that Qurashi detonated a bomb during the raid, killing himself and family members, including women and children.
Al-Sheikh said Qurashi had rented the house about a year ago.
He lived on the ground floor with his wife and three children. His sister and her daughter lived on the first floor.
This man lived here (in the house) for 11 months. I did not notice anything strange about him, Al-Sheikh said.
He would pay me rent and leave.
One of the last times he saw his tenant, Al-Sheikh said he was picking olives near the house. Qurashi brought him a cup of coffee and sat down for a chat.
He seemed like an easygoing, gentle and cheerful person Al-Sheikh said.
He always wore the same clothes, he said -- a pair of trousers, a shirt, a vest and a headscarf.
Qurashi's moniker was The Destroyer and he had a reputation for brutality. He played a major role in the 2014 jihadist campaign to kill and enslave the Yazidis in Iraq.
His cool demeanour and even temper shielded him from any suspicion.
Now that his identity has been revealed, his landlord is furious about his damaged house.
If I knew about him, I would have never let him live in my house, he said.