Fugitive Islamic State (IS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a US military operation in Syria's northwest Idlib district, US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday.
In a special media address at the White House, Trump said: "Last night was a great night for the US and the world. A brutal killer, one who has caused so much hardship and death, has violently been eliminated. He will never again harm an innocent man, woman or child. Last night, the United States brought the world's number one terrorist leader, to justice: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead.”
The US President went into a lot of detail with regards to the operation and what really happened. He said that the US had begun to receive intel regarding Baghdadi from its operatives as well as the Kurds. They began working on it and were able to figure out his exact location a fortnight ago. Trump was briefed about the plan just three days ago.
Trump arrived at 4.30 pm at the White House after a round of golf and was in the Situation Room by 5 pm along with Defence Secretary Mark Esper, Vice President Mike Pence, National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, and other intelligence officials. And in similar fashion to the operation that killed Osama Bin Laden, Trump watched the operation unfold ‘as if it were a movie’.
After some time, eight helicopters lifted from an unidentified military base in the Middle East carrying personnel from the elite Delta Force unit and military dogs. The operation took place in Idlib region of Syria and was supported by US aircrafts and warships.
As the helicopters approached the compound housing Baghdadi, they came under fire but the troops were are to counter it and land without incident. Assuming that the compound door would be booby trapped, the soldiers made their way in by blasting a hole right though the wall.
On entering the compound, the personnel met with resistance but were able to overcome it. Some ISIS fighters surrendered, while others who didn’t were killed in the firing. Trump also said that eleven children were retrieved from the compound, uninjured, and given into care of a third party he didn’t name.
Baghdadi fled to a subterranean area of the complex and was seen going into a dead-end tunnel with three of his children, chased by a military dog. It is reported that the forces called for Baghdadi to surrender to which he refused. According to Trump, Baghdadi was "whimpering and crying and screaming". He then ignited his powerful suicide vest, killing himself, his three children and causing the tunnel to collapse.
The powerful blast ripped his body, but the team was able to confirm his identity onsite in 15 minutes by doing a DNA test.
The soldiers then did a sweep of the compound and were able to seize sensitive material pertaining to ISIS’ origins and its future plans. The forces spent a good two hours inside the compound before flying back the same way they came.
It is said that Baghdadi’s body will be ‘disposed off’ properly, probably the same way Bin Laden was taken care of, after consultation with experts in Islamic laws.
