The compound in Syria where Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi was holed up prior to his death had an internet connection.
Reporter Jenan Moussa with Al-Aan TV obtained documents that show the compound first signed up for an internet subscription on Feb. 1, and that the owner of the house, Abu Muhammad al Halabi, paid in cash.
The monthly fee for the service was about $8 and was paid through October. The username associated with the internet subscription was “mhrab.”
6/ The documents I exclusively obtained also show that the internet connection in the compound where ISIS chief #Baghdadi was staying had a username. It was: mhrab.@akhbar pic.twitter.com/PzLdHTSdru
— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) November 13, 2019
On the last full day before the U.S. raid, inhabitants of the residence logged in seven different times, spending a total of about 90 minutes online.
8/ Last time inhabitants of #Baghdadi compound in Barisha logged on to internet on 26 October was right after noon, from 12.01.51 until 12.05.56. So only for 4 min 5 sec.
Around 12 hours later, the U.S. raided compound, just after midnight, so officially on Oct 27th.@akhbar pic.twitter.com/9RVLHCWMye
— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) November 13, 2019
Daily internet usage from where the ISIS leader was hiding varied. On one day, occupants spent only four minutes on the internet, while on another, around 20 hours were spent online.
Last month, Baghdadi was killed during a top-secret operation in the Idlib province of northwest Syria. The terrorist leader detonated a suicide vest, killing himself and three of his children. Just hours later, ISIS spokesman Abu Hassan al Muhajir was killed in an airstrike in a village controlled by Turkish-backed Syrian rebels.
ISIS has since named Abu Ibrahim al Hashimi al Qurayshi as its new leader, with President Trump promising that U.S. forces will hunt him down as well.
