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US reportedly carries out operation against Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi believed dead in US raid
(about 3 hours later)
The US has carried out a raid in Syria targeting the Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, according to multiple reports. The leader of the Islamic State terror group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is believed to have died in a US raid in north-western Syria overnight, intelligence officials have claimed.
A US official told Reuters an operation had taken place targeting the terrorist leader but did not say whether it had succeeded it capturing or killing him. The raid followed a month long intelligence operation that had tracked Baghdadi to the region through a smuggler who had moved the wives of two of his brothers from Iraq to Idlib, two officials told the Guardian.
Newsweek said it had been told by a US Army official briefed on the raid that Baghdadi, 48, was dead. It said the operation took place in Syria’s north-western Idlib province, and was carried out by special operations forces after receiving actionable intelligence. Donald Trump is due to make an announcement at 9.00am (1300GMT) on Sunday in Washington, having tweeted on Saturday night without explanation: “Something very big has just happened!”
Citing two senior administration officials, the New York Times reported that US special operations commandos had carried out a risky raid in north-western Syria on Saturday against a senior terrorist leader there, but did not name the person targeted. Intelligence officials believe Baghdadi may have detonated a suicide belt as troops approached a house near the Turkish border in which he was hiding. The blast is thought to have also killed two of his wives.
Explosions and gunfire were reported from the small town of Barisha at about 1.30am Syrian time on Sunday. It is understood that the Isis leader had been tracked to the home of one his bodyguards who attempted to defend him. The raid is thought to have left at least nine people dead.
Iraqi state television aired footage on Sunday that it said showed the raid.
If confirmed, the death would be a devastating blow to a terror group that had run rampant across the region for five years from mid 2014, spawning gruesome terror attacks across the world, amplifying a mass refugee exodus and sparking a war to contain them that killed thousands of people and displaced millions more.
Throughout that time, Baghdadi had remained the face of Isis, a fearsome implacable ideologue who eluded the world’s intelligence agencies while continuing to incite a war of civilisations.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Syria war monitor, reported that a squadron of eight helicopters accompanied by a warplane belonging to the international coalition attacked positions of the Hurras al-Deen (an al-Qaida affiliated group) where Isis operatives were believed to be hiding in the Barisha area north of Idlib city.
Over the past month, the manhunt for Baghdadi had intensified after Iraqi officials identified a Syrian man who had moved his family members and wives from Iraq to Syria. An Iraqi intelligence official said the wives of Baghdadi’s two brothers, Jumah and Ahmad, along with other family members, were monitored as they moved to the region. The information was passed to the CIA earlier this month, the officials say.
Telegram accounts linked to Isis were on Sunday offering prayers for Baghdadi, but not confirming his death. The terror group no longer controls territory in Syria or Iraq after a five year war across much of both countries.
Several Syrian rebel groups active in Idlib province say they had been asked by US officials over the past fortnight to establish whether senior Isis members were hiding in Idlib.
Iran said it had been informed by Syrian sources that Baghdadi had been killed, two Iranian officials told Reuters on Sunday. “Iran was informed about Baghdadi’s death by Syrian officials who got it from the field,” one of the officials said.
“Our sources from inside Syria have confirmed to the Iraqi intelligence team tasked with pursuing Baghdadi that he has been killed alongside his personal bodyguard in Idlib, after his hiding place was discovered when he tried to get his family out of Idlib towards the Turkish border,” one of the sources said.
Isis leader Baghdadi appears in video for first time in five yearsIsis leader Baghdadi appears in video for first time in five years
Iran was informed by Syrian sources that Baghdadi had been killed, two Iranian officials told Reuters on Sunday. On Saturday the White House spokesman, Hogan Gidley, said Trump planned to make a “major statement” on Sunday morning, but gave no further details. It was unclear what the topic of the president’s statement might be.
“Iran was informed about Baghdadi’s death by Syrian officials who got it from the field,” one of the officials said. The region is mostly held by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist group that opposes Isis and routinely executes people thought to be affiliated with the group. Though long speculated to be a possible hideout, Idlib had been thought by many regional officials to be too risky a proposition for Baghdadi who was more accustomed to the deserts of Iraq, where his organisation had risen.
Reuters was also told by Iraqi security sources that Baghdadi had been killed. The death of Baghdadi would be a significant fillip for Trump, who has faced withering criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike for his troop withdrawal from north-eastern Syria, which permitted Turkey to attack the US’s Kurdish allies. He has also repeatedly insisted the US had defeated Isis – a claim denied by US generals and intelligence leaders.
“Our sources from inside Syria have confirmed to the Iraqi intelligence team tasked with pursuing Baghdadi that he has been killed alongside his personal bodyguard in Idlib, after his hiding place was discovered when he tried to get his family out of Idlib towards the Turkish border,” one of the sources told Reuters.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Syria war monitor, meanwhile reported that a squadron of eight helicopters accompanied by a warplane belonging to the international coalition attacked positions of the Hurras al-Deen (an al-Qaida affiliated group) where IS operatives were believed to be hiding in the Barisha area north of Idlib city.
Associated Press reported the observatory as saying nine people had died in the attack, but it was not known whether Baghdadi was one of them.
Earlier on Saturday the White House spokesman, Hogan Gidley, said Donald Trump planned to make a “major statement” at 9am on Sunday morning (1300GMT).
Gidley gave no further details, and it was unclear what the topic of the president’s statement might be.
The New York Times reported that the US defence secretary would appear on the morning shows to discuss developments in Syria, however it also reported that some analysts had expressed skepticism that Baghdadi would be hiding in Idlib.
The region is held by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist group that opposes Isis and routinely executes people thought to be affiliated with the group.
There was speculation, however, that Trump might have news about al-Baghdadi, who has been the subject of an international manhunt for years.
The president gave an indication that something was afoot earlier on Saturday night when he tweeted without explanation: “Something very big has just happened!”
Trump has faced withering criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike for his troop withdrawal from north-eastern Syria, which permitted Turkey to attack the US’s Kurdish allies.
'Banditry': Russia slams US as troops move back into Syria'Banditry': Russia slams US as troops move back into Syria
Many critics of Trump’s Syria pullout have expressed worries that it would allow the Islamic State group to regain strength and pose a threat to US interests. An announcement about Baghdadi’s death could help blunt those concerns. Many critics of Trump’s Syria pullout have expressed worries that it would allow Isis to regain strength and pose a threat to US interests. An announcement about Baghdadi’s death could help blunt those concerns.
Trump was expected to make the statement in the White House diplomatic reception room, which he has used to make a number of major announcements. Last week he used the same room to announce that a ceasefire between Turkey and the Kurds had taken hold.Trump was expected to make the statement in the White House diplomatic reception room, which he has used to make a number of major announcements. Last week he used the same room to announce that a ceasefire between Turkey and the Kurds had taken hold.
For days, US officials had feared that Isis would seek to capitalise on the upheaval in Syria. But they also saw a potential opportunity, in which Isis leaders might break from more secretive routines to communicate with operatives, potentially creating a chance for the US and its allies to detect them.For days, US officials had feared that Isis would seek to capitalise on the upheaval in Syria. But they also saw a potential opportunity, in which Isis leaders might break from more secretive routines to communicate with operatives, potentially creating a chance for the US and its allies to detect them.
Baghdadi, who has $25m bounty on his head, was long thought to hiding somewhere along the Iraq-Syria border. He has led the group since 2010, when it was still an underground al-Qaida offshoot in Iraq.Baghdadi, who has $25m bounty on his head, was long thought to hiding somewhere along the Iraq-Syria border. He has led the group since 2010, when it was still an underground al-Qaida offshoot in Iraq.
On 16 September, Isis’s media network issued a 30-minute audio message purporting to come from Baghdadi, in which he said operations were taking place daily and called on supporters to free women jailed in camps in Iraq and Syria over their alleged links to his group.On 16 September, Isis’s media network issued a 30-minute audio message purporting to come from Baghdadi, in which he said operations were taking place daily and called on supporters to free women jailed in camps in Iraq and Syria over their alleged links to his group.
In the audio message, Baghdadi also said the US and its proxies had been defeated in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that the US had been “dragged” into Mali and Niger.In the audio message, Baghdadi also said the US and its proxies had been defeated in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that the US had been “dragged” into Mali and Niger.
At the height of its power Isis ruled millions of people in territory running from northern Syria through towns and villages along the Tigris and Euphrates valleys to the outskirts of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.At the height of its power Isis ruled millions of people in territory running from northern Syria through towns and villages along the Tigris and Euphrates valleys to the outskirts of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.
But in 2017, the fall of Mosul and Raqqa, its strongholds in Iraq and Syria respectively, stripped Baghdadi, an Iraqi, of the trappings of a caliph and turned him into a fugitive thought to be moving along the desert border between Iraq and Syria.But in 2017, the fall of Mosul and Raqqa, its strongholds in Iraq and Syria respectively, stripped Baghdadi, an Iraqi, of the trappings of a caliph and turned him into a fugitive thought to be moving along the desert border between Iraq and Syria.
US air strikes killed most of his top lieutenants, and before Isis published a video message of Baghdadi in April there had been conflicting reports over whether he was alive.US air strikes killed most of his top lieutenants, and before Isis published a video message of Baghdadi in April there had been conflicting reports over whether he was alive.
Despite losing its last significant territory, Isis is believed to have sleeper cells around the world, and some fighters operate from the shadows in Syria’s desert and Iraq’s cities.Despite losing its last significant territory, Isis is believed to have sleeper cells around the world, and some fighters operate from the shadows in Syria’s desert and Iraq’s cities.
The group claimed responsibility for a series of suicide bombings in churches and hotels in Sri Lanka that killed more than 250 people in April, though police in the Indian Ocean island country say they are yet to establish a direct link to the terrorist group.The group claimed responsibility for a series of suicide bombings in churches and hotels in Sri Lanka that killed more than 250 people in April, though police in the Indian Ocean island country say they are yet to establish a direct link to the terrorist group.
Islamic StateIslamic State
Abu Bakr al-BaghdadiAbu Bakr al-Baghdadi
US militaryUS military
SyriaSyria
Donald TrumpDonald Trump
Middle East and North AfricaMiddle East and North Africa
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