Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed during a top-secret operation in northwest Syria, President Trump announced Sunday morning at the White House.
U.S. special operations forces targeted the elusive cleric Saturday night in an undisclosed location in Idlib Province, where he had been under surveillance for weeks.
“Last night, the United States brought the world’s number-one terrorist leader to justice. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead,” Trump told reporters at a press conference in the Diplomatic Reception Room.
At least eight military helicopters carried U.S. commandos to the compound where the roughly two-hour operation took place, Trump said.
The president described how Baghdadi ran into a dead-end tunnel with three children as K-9 units pursued them. Trapped, Baghdadi was “whimpering and crying and screaming” when he detonated a suicide vest killing himself and the three children, Trump said. Eleven other children were safely removed from the compound by American forces during the raid, the president added.
An “on-site test” was conducted to confirm the body was Baghdadi’s, Trump said, noting “there wasn’t much left.”
Trump described there being gunfire and “blasting” during the raid in which a “large number” of enemy fighters were killed, but he said no U.S. troops were killed and one military dog was injured “and brought back.” Defense Secretary Mark Esper told ABC News that two service members suffered minor injuries, but are now back on duty.
The mission, conducted by the Army’s Delta Force and Rangers, was to capture or kill the terrorist leader. U.S. forces seized “highly sensitive material and information” during the operation, according to the White House.
Dan Scavino, the director of social media at the White House, shared a photo of Trump with Vice President Mike Pence, Esper, national security adviser Robert O’Brien, and military leaders in the Situation Room “monitoring developments” from the raid.
— Dan Scavino Jr.?? (@Scavino45) October 27, 2019
A number of countries were thanked for their assistance in the operation. Trump started with Russia during his press conference. “I want to thank the nations of Russia, Turkey, Syria, and Iraq,” he said, adding, “and I also want to thank the Syrian Kurds for certain support that were able to give us.”
Trump said Baghdadi operation was “bigger” than the 2011 raid that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
Trump said congressional leaders were not informed of the raid ahead of time to avoid leaks. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi released a statement praising the U.S. military and intelligence personnel involved in the operation. The California Democrat also complained that Russia was notified ahead of congressional leadership.
“The House must be briefed on this raid, which the Russians but not top Congressional Leadership were notified of in advance, and on the Administration’s overall strategy in the region. Our military and allies deserve strong, smart and strategic leadership from Washington,” Pelosi said.
Baghdadi was last seen in a video that surfaced in April in which he praised the Easter Day terror attacks in Sri Lanka that killed more than 250 people. Before that, he had not been seen for five years and was at times rumored to be dead as U.S.-backed coalition forces liberated territory in Iraq and Syria that had been held by ISIS in its self-proclaimed caliphate. He was purportedly heard in an audio message in September urging his followers to continue carrying out attacks.
The United States had a $25 million bounty on Baghdadi’s head.
The operation targeting Baghdadi took place weeks after Trump made the controversial decision to move U.S. troops out of northern Syria, which was quickly followed by Turkey’s military offensive against Syrian Kurdish militias that helped the U.S. fight ISIS. More than a hundred ISIS members escaped detention when Turkey invaded Syria.
Last week, Trump announced a temporary ceasefire in northern Syria would be permanent, although each side in the conflict charged the other with breaching the accord.
Despite the U.S. withdrawal, which Democrats and many Republicans condemned as a betrayal of Kurdish allies, Pentagon leaders have drawn up plans to reinforce several hundred U.S. troops still in Syria with 500 additional forces and heavy weapons with an eye toward protecting Syrian oil fields from ISIS or other groups.
The major announcement, which Trump teased late Saturday with a tweet that said “Something very big has just happened!”, comes as the president faces impeachment in proceedings led by Democrats in the House.
