Death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

Reuters reported Iraqi intelligence officials as stating that the arrest of several Islamic State leaders was the key behind learning about Baghdadi's movements and hiding places. They said that Ismael al-Ethawi, believed to be a top aide to Baghdadi, was found and followed by informants in Syria, apprehended by Turkish authorities, and handed over to Iraqi intelligence agents to whom he provided information in February 2018. The Iraqis then gave the information to the CIA, who kept surveillance on the discovered location through a satellite and drones. They also said that in 2019 the United States, Turkish and Iraqi intelligence conducted a joint operation in which they captured several high-ranking ISIL leaders, including four Iraqis and a Syrian, who provided the locations where they met with Baghdadi inside Syria, after which they decided to coordinate with the CIA to deploy more sources inside these areas. An Iraqi official remarked that Baghdadi's "last moment to live" was when he and his family left the location that they were in for the first time in five months.[15]

Ethawi and the other aides in an interview to The New York Times stated that they were blindfolded before being taken to meet their leader, in order to keep his whereabouts secret, they were then kept at the location for hours before being blindfolded again and driven away from the site.[16]

Baghdadi's compound was located near GPS coordinates 36.1660, 36.6274, in Syria's Idlib Governorate. Although Idlib is dominated by the Islamic State's rival jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which had connections to al-Qaeda,[17] the Institute for the Study of War warned that Idlib is nevertheless the focus of an ISIL strategy to have it serve as an incubator for the next iteration of ISIL and al-Qaeda recruits.[18]

In July 2019, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford explained that there were around 20,000–⁠30,000 rebels in Idlib by that time in the ongoing Syrian civil war, many of which were jihadists. U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East Michael P. Mulroy said that "Idlib is essentially the largest collection of al-Qaeda affiliates in the world."[18] In regard to Baghdadi's possible rationale for choosing the location, "We assess that he was hiding in Idlib province to avoid the intense pressure that had been put on ISIS in other areas of Syria," operational commander General Kenneth McKenzie later stated.[19]

Documents later obtained by Al Aan TV's Jenan Moussa reportedly revealed that, from 1 February 2019 until the day of the U.S. raid, Baghdadi's compound had internet access and that the owner of the site paid the equivalent of an $8 monthly fee in cash to the regional ISP for service. According to Moussa, the username Baghdadi used was "mhrab."[20] Baghdadi's compound was destroyed after the successful operation to be sure it would not become a memorial.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reported that they provided direct and extensive support to the operation.[21] Prior to the raid, the SDF, working with the U.S. government, had spent five months gathering intelligence on Baghdadi's location.[22] A senior U.S. State Department official said that the Kurdish-led SDF "played a key role" in the raid on Baghdadi's compound and that the United States was in close communication with SDF commander General Mazloum Abdi about every aspect of their operation, and Abdi's statements about the raid, in reference to the joint intelligence cooperation on the ground, were accurate.[23] Abdi said the operation had been delayed by a month due to Turkey's military build-up at the Syrian border and the Turkish incursion into northeastern Syria that followed.[14]

The New York Times reported that unnamed U.S. intelligence, military, and counter-terrorism officials said that the abrupt withdrawal of U.S. forces from northern Syria by President Donald Trump had complicated the plans for the operation against Baghdadi, but the Syrian Kurds continued to provide information to the CIA amidst the Turkish offensive.[12] One of the officials remarked that both the Syrian and Iraqi Kurds had provided more intelligence for the raid than any single country.[12]

CENTCOM commander General Kenneth McKenzie later confirmed the SDF had provided intelligence to American forces prior to the raid in Idlib,[24] but denied reports that President Trump's prior order to withdraw forces from north Syria had any impact on the timing or execution of the mission.[25]

The Washington Post reported that, according to a U.S. official, an ISIL militant-turned informant for the Kurds had provided critical intelligence about Baghdadi's location.[26] The SDF commander, General Abdi, said that their informant was deep inside Baghdadi's inner circle as a security adviser and had provided a detailed layout of the complex, and was on-site during the operation, after which he left with the U.S. forces.[27] SDF officials said that the informant had stolen Baghdadi's underwear and a sample of Baghdadi's blood, which was provided to the U.S. intelligence for DNA analysis and resulted in a positive match.[27][23] U.S. and Middle East–based officials stated that the informant was a Sunni Arab ISIL operative, who served as a trusted facilitator and logistics aide to Baghdadi, but defected because ISIL killed his relative, after which he was cultivated as an intelligence asset by the SDF.[28] They said that, after the SDF leadership handed control over the informant to U.S. intelligence, he was carefully vetted for several weeks by them and that the effort to begin exploiting this intelligence asset began in the summer of 2019.[28] The informant was subsequently extracted from the region with his family two days after the raid and will likely receive at least some of the $25 million bounty.[29]

The operation was named after Kayla Mueller, an American aid worker that was abducted by ISIL in Syria in August 2013. During her captivity, she was reportedly forced into marriage with al-Baghdadi, during which time she was repeatedly raped, tortured, and physically abused. She was confirmed dead in early February 2015, reportedly murdered by al-Baghdadi himself.[35]

The special forces that were to carry out the operation named their task force "Task Force 8-14", based on Mueller's birthday.[36]

At 9:23 p.m. EST, President Trump tweeted "Something very big has just happened!" with the White House subsequently announcing a planned press conference at 9 a.m. the next morning.[46] At the press conference, Trump announced Baghdadi's death and went on to describe the successful operation against him in detail, reporting that U.S. forces used helicopters, jets, and drones through airspace controlled by Russia and Turkey.[4] He also said that they had Baghdadi "under surveillance for 'a couple of weeks' and 'two or three' raids had been canceled because of his movements". He continued: "The forces targeted the compound using eight helicopters, which were met with hostile fire. The commandos entered the building by blowing holes in the wall, avoiding the main door which was booby-trapped."[44] Trump announced that Baghdadi died by detonating a suicide vest after he was chased by U.S. military dogs and was cornered inside a tunnel. He and other officials initially stated that the explosion killed three of his children alongside him,[44][46] however General McKenzie later said it had been confirmed only two were killed.[24] Trump said Baghdadi died "like a dog and a coward" and "whimpering and crying and screaming", but JCS Chairman Milley and various Pentagon and administration officials either could not confirm, or outright denied, the "whimpering and crying" detail as Trump reportedly had only seen drone surveillance without live audio.[47][48]

Reportedly, some U.S. officials said that Trump's press conference contained several pieces of information that were inaccurate, highly classified, or tactically sensitive.[49][50]

Trump reportedly met with troops involved in the raid during a visit to Fort Bragg, North Carolina on October 29, 2020. According to White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, Trump presented the operators with a Presidential Unit Citation and visited a Special Forces memorial at the base.[51]

JCS Chairman Milley said during a Pentagon briefing that the disposal of Baghdadi's corpse was "handled appropriately", initially adding that Washington had no plans to release images of his death, but later showed footage of the raid during a briefing on October 30.[52][53] Baghdadi was buried at sea and afforded Islamic rites, three anonymous U.S. officials told Reuters and a Pentagon source told AFP.[54][55] An aide of Baghdadi, who handled logistics, was the other man killed according to Iraqi officials.[56] United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that two wives of al-Baghdadi were also killed in the raid.[57]

Conan, the American Special Operations Military Working Dog that chased after Baghdadi

Trump said no U.S. soldiers were injured,[44] but Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said two had been lightly injured during the raid.[58] An American Special Operations Military Working Dog (SOMWD), a male Belgian Malinois named Conan,[59][60] who chased Baghdadi, was treated for his injuries and returned to work on October 28. During a news conference that day, Esper and Milley declined to identify him for security reasons; Trump released a declassified photograph of him later in the day.[61][62] The dog was injured due to live electrical cables that were exposed, according to McKenzie.[30]

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) war monitor, Delta Force killed nine people, including one child, two women and some high-ranking ISIL leaders.[63] Baghdadi's suicide vest killed two more children, reportedly his own. The Americans captured two militants and rescued eleven children.[64][46] General McKenzie said six ISIL members, which included four women and another man aside from Baghdadi, were killed in the operation. The raid also killed about 10 to 15 members of other groups who engaged American forces.[6]

Delta also killed a local Hurras al-Din commander,[65] identified as Abu Muhammad al-Halabi, the owner of the house Baghdadi was staying at.[3] An Iraqi intelligence official and Hisham al-Hashimi have stated to The Independent that Halabi was also a smuggler, which is why the ISIL head and his family utilized his services.[66] The inhabitants of the village stated that he was a sheep seller, but rarely interacted with his neighbors.[56] His other alias is believed to be Abu Mohammed Salama and his corpse was flown away by Delta Force after the raid according to Barisha's inhabitants. He, along with some other Hurras al-Din members, is also suspected to have been part of a pro-ISIL faction.[67]

Based on a receipt book of ISIL found by associates of former American intelligence official Asaad Almohammad, analysts have stated that Baghdadi was paying the members of the group in exchange for hiding him. According to the receipt book, ISIL paid at least $67,000 to them from early 2017 to mid-2018, including $7,000 in summer 2018 to prepare bases for ISIL fighters from "al-Khair province", hinting that they helped in smuggling ISIL members. Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi pointed to the fact that the two groups were enemies, citing a warning by Hurras al-Din to its members in February 2019 to avoid contact with ISIL and the latter issuing the similar statement about the former in July.[30] However, Tamimi also said that some of the receipts might be fabrications, except the ones from March to July 2018 that he was shown.[68]

Besides the two children killed by Baghdadi's suicide detonation, the U.S. military initially reported no civilian casualties during the operation.

A report by NPR released on December 3, 2019, cited a local farmer, Barakat Ahmad Barakat, as saying that his right hand and forearm were blown off and his two friends were killed by U.S. helicopter fire during the operation. According to Barakat's account, Khaled Mustafa Qurmo and Khaled Abdel Majid Qurmo, two cousins, were driving him home in Barisha on October 26 when helicopters fired on their white van. All three exited the vehicle, but one fell, his legs filled with shrapnel. A follow-up strike targeted the group again, killing the two cousins and blowing off a chunk of Barakat's right arm. The cousins died of shrapnel wounds to the chest, according to autopsy reports by a Syrian doctor with the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations, an international medical group. Several relatives said the cousins operated a van service and had no connection to ISIL or any armed group; Barakat said the van carried no weapons. Relatives provided video and photos of the scene and the destroyed van to NPR.[10]

An unidentified U.S. defense official told NPR by email that it was the first civilian casualty report they received related to the raid, and that initial reports suggested that a white van in the vicinity had fired on U.S. helicopters. "Surveillance footage will be reviewed to determine if an investigation needs to be opened based upon this additional information," the official said. Former Pentagon intelligence analyst Marc Garlasco suggested the shrapnel damage at the scene resembled that caused by Hydra 70 rockets, a type used by U.S. military helicopters. Garlasco also suggested the secondary strikes on the men fleeing the van was consistent with a U.S. military practice of targeting "squirters"—people perceived to be hostiles running away from an attack.[10]

In February 2020, U.S. Central Command launched a formal investigation, called a credibility assessment, into the allegations of possible civilian casualties.[69] In July 2020, Central Command concluded that U.S. forces reacted appropriately to "actions against U.S. forces, which turned lethal after warnings were not heeded." According to CENTCOM, a helicopter fired a warning shot at the approaching van, but the van accelerated towards the helicopter until it was shot upon again, in which the men fled towards Baghdadi's compound without appearing to surrender, leading U.S. forces to perceive the men as hostile "enemy combatants". The men would not have been considered hostile if they did not run towards the compound, a spokesman said. CENTCOM investigators did not contact Barakat during the assessment and said they will not compensate the victims' families.[70]

Retired U.S. Major General Dana Pittard commented that U.S. personnel were justified in protecting themselves against a Syrian vehicle approaching the area with unknown intentions, but said the cousins' response to the warning shot was also understandable, saying "I assume it was dark...What is your inclination? Just put your foot on the pedal and keep going." NPR questioned the military's account, saying it offered no evidence the men intended to threaten troops and speculated whether the military was deliberately portraying confused, fleeing civilians as retreating hostiles.[70]

On December 8, 2021, NPR filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against the U.S. Department of Defense, alleging that the Pentagon failed its legal obligation to provide documents of the investigation and respond to Freedom of Information Act requests in a timely manner.[71]

News of the death of Baghdadi was ignored by official ISIL channels for days and the group did not immediately confirm his death. Many ISIL supporters refused to believe he was dead, while some others accepted it.[76] Supporters of ISIL's rival jihadist groups like Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and al-Qaeda praised his death because of his group's noted record for cruelty. Salafi cleric Abdullah al-Muhaysini celebrated Baghdadi's demise and called on ISIL members to defect. The activity of jihadist supporters in general temporarily decreased online as well.[77]

ISIL's Amaq News Agency confirmed Baghdadi's death on October 31 and announced Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi as his successor.[78] Abu Hamza al-Qurashi became their new spokesman after its prior spokesperson, Abul-Hasan al-Muhajir, was killed in an October 27 U.S. strike in northwest Syria following the Barisha raid. In an audio message, Hamza al-Qurashi described U.S. president Donald Trump as "a crazy old man" and warned the U.S. to "not rejoice" and that ISIL supporters would avenge Baghdadi's death.[79]

Since Baghdadi's death several of the leaders operating under him have been killed or captured, along with some of his family members:

On November 4, Turkish communications director Fahrettin Altun stated that Rasmiya Awad, Baghdadi's lesser-known older sister, had been captured. According to Reuters, citing Turkish officials, Awad was captured in a raid on a shipping container in the Turkish-controlled Syrian border town of Azaz and that Turkish authorities were interrogating her husband and daughter-in-law who were also detained. When captured, she was also accompanied by five children. "We hope to gather a trove of intelligence from Baghdadi's sister on the inner workings of ISIS," Altun stated. Little independent information is available on Baghdadi's sister and Reuters was not immediately able to verify if the captured individual was her.[80][81]

On December 3, Iraqi security forces announced the capture of Baghdadi's "deputy" who operated under the name "Abu Khaldoun". According to security officials, a police unit in Hawija, Kirkuk Governorate, Iraq, tracked down Khaldoun to an apartment in the March 1 area where he was hiding; he possessed a fake I.D. under the name of Shaalan Obeid when apprehended. Khaldoun was previously ISIL's "military prince" of Iraq's Saladin Governorate.[82]

On December 26, Boko Haram, the West African branch of ISIL, killed 11 captives in what the group called a "message for Christians" and a retaliation for the killing of Baghdadi and Abul-Hasan al-Muhajir.[83]

Representatives of several countries, including Australia,[84] France,[85] Israel,[86] and the United Kingdom,[85] congratulated the United States and said that the death of Baghdadi marked a turning point in the fight against ISIL.

•  United Kingdom – The Foreign Secretary said that the death of al-Baghdadi was a "significant milestone"; however, it was not the end of the threat with the UK Secretary of State for Defence welcoming the death of al-Baghdadi.[87]
•  France – The French government said that it was a hard blow to the Islamic State however, saying, that this was also just a stage and that the fight must continue.[85]
•  Israel – The State of Israel too welcomed the death of al-Baghdadi, congratulating President Trump and reaffirming their stand on international terrorism and stating that the fight must continue on.[85]
•  Russia – Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the raid's result, if confirmed, represented a serious contribution by the United States toward combating terrorism.[84]
•  Iran – Iran stated that Baghdadi's death was not significant and that the actions of the United States are responsible for the rise of ISIL. Iran said that the killing of Baghdadi did not mean the group's end, as sectarianism and terrorism still very much exist and are being exploited by countries like the U.S.[88]
•  Syria – In an interview with the French magazine Paris Match published on November 27, 2019, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad dismissed any suggestion the Syrian government had anything to do with the raid and affirmed his skepticism of the operation's success, calling it a "fantastic play staged by the Americans" and quipping, "was al-Baghdadi really killed or not?" Assad made similar remarks to Syria TV weeks prior, calling the operation "little more than a trick" and likening U.S. politics to Hollywood.[89]
•  Saudi Arabia – Mohammed bin Salman commended Trump on the killing of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, describing the event as a turning point in the fight against extremism. Saudi Arabia said Baghdadi had perverted the reputation of Islam and welcomed his death at the hands of US commandos. The kingdom said it is thankful to the US for its efforts to track members of this terrorist organization.[75]
•  Egypt – Egypt said the death marked a significant achievement in the efforts to combat extremism. The country also advocated for a comprehensive approach that acknowledged the security, developmental, and theoretical dimensions in the battle against armed actors.[75]
•  Turkey – President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said al-Baghdadi's killing was a turning point in the fight against terrorism.[75]
•  Afghanistan – Afghanistan praised al-Baghdadi's killing as a significant blow and anticipated it would weaken ISIL's activities in Afghanistan.[75]
•  Jordan – Jordan characterized al-Baghdadi's death as a major step in the battle against terrorists and their principles of hate. The country also said it will remain on the frontlines to eradicate extremism in partnership with its allies.[75]
•  Bahrain – Bahrain lauded the raid and said it was a "fatal blow to the group."[75]
•  Japan – Japan said the death of al-Baghdadi was a crucial turning point towards serenity and stability in the Middle East. However, the country also cautioned that the war against terrorism had not ended.[75]
•  Philippines – The Philippines said Baghdadi's death was only a temporary setback for the group because of ISIL's comprehensiveness and reach worldwide.[75]
•  Iraq – Iraq noted its part in locating Baghdadi and said it would continue to track and prosecute the organization.[90]
•  Sri Lanka – The prime minister of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe congratulated President Donald Trump after the raid. He said that IS has been fomenting horror and dismay across the globe and that the operation makes the world a more secure place.[91]
•  Germany – The German government took the time to reflect on the victims of IS after the raid. Government spokesman Steffen Seibert said Baghdadi can't order any more killings, but added that the fight against the organization will continue.[91]
•  United Nations – U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said the death of Baghdadi was a good time to remember the casualties of terrorism. U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said that IS had perpetrated wicked human rights violations and ushered in disaster and death to thousands of men, women, and children. Lastly, he added the world has made visible progress against Daesh.[91]
•  European Union – The European Union said the death of Baghdadi was a major blow to the organization but warned that it still remains a major threat.[91]
•  NATO – NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg stated the raid was a great accomplishment in the efforts against global terrorism.[92]