Getty Image / MANDEL NGAN / Staff
On Saturday night, there were several news media reports that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had been killed by U.S. Special Forces in Northern Syria. Baghdadi was “dead pending verification,” the Pentagon source told Newsweek. President Donald Trump approved the mission nearly a week before the top-secret operation took place.
Newsweek provided details of the raid on Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the head of ISIS:
Members of a team from the Joint Special Operations Command carried out Saturday’s high-level operation after receiving actionable intelligence, according to sources familiar with the operation. The location raided by special operations troops had been under surveillance for some time.
Getty Image / Anadolu Agency / Contributor
Rumors are circulating that there was a raid in Idlib, a city in northwestern Syria, where US Special Forces and coalition forces were pursuing a high-value terrorist target. That may have been al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Charles Lister, senior fellow and director of MEI Countering Terrorism & Extremism Program, tweeted out potential details of the raid on Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
“There are reports of a (US?) helicopter-borne raid on a convoy of Huras al-Din (#AlQaeda in #Syria) leaders traveling near Barisha in #Idlib.
Locals say as many as 6 choppers involved – gave chase to convoy, 2 landed & assaulted vehicles. Possibly took bodies or evidence away.
Barisha is ~3-4km from the #Turkey border. It’s in long-time #AlQaeda territory, spanning between Al-Dana-Sarmada-Salqin.
As I recall, a helicopter-borne raid on AQ in NW #Syria has never happened – this would suggest a very high-level target.
In more recent years, the Turkistan Islamic Party (#TIP) has probably been the most significant authority in the Barisha region (stretching NE to Jisr al-Shughour).
Unverified reports have claimed 1 #TIP fatality, in what looks like a series of successive clashes. #Idlib”
#pt: Barisha is ~3-4km from the #Turkey border. It's in long-time #AlQaeda territory, spanning between Al-Dana-Sarmada-Salqin.
As I recall, a helicopter-borne raid on AQ in NW #Syria has never happened – this would suggest a very high-level target.
— Charles Lister (@Charles_Lister) October 27, 2019
#pt: In more recent years, the Turkistan Islamic Party (#TIP) has probably been the most significant authority in the Barisha region (stretching NE to Jisr al-Shughour).
Unverified reports have claimed 1 #TIP fatality, in what looks like a series of successive clashes. #Idlib
— Charles Lister (@Charles_Lister) October 27, 2019
Some very speculative and unconfirmed chatter suggests that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS, has been captured alive.
That Trump wouldn’t be able to contain his excitement and would tweet something like this certainly wouldn’t surprise me at all, if true. https://t.co/CRBOD6a8sw
— Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) October 27, 2019
Getty Image / Anadolu Agency / Contributor
BREAKING: ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been killed in a raid conducted in Northern Idlib, Syria.
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) October 27, 2019
A Kuwaiti news agency Annahar tweeted: “United States: Raid targeted ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and led to his death.”
#عاجل– الولايات المتحدة : غارة استهدفت زعيم داعش ابو بكر البغدادي و ادت الى مقتله pic.twitter.com/xpCxOQuPsD
— جريدة النهار الكويتية (@naharkw) October 27, 2019
Al-Baghdadi was the leader of Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) and al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) since 2010. Al-Baghdadi was the leader of ISIL since its founding in 2013.
The U.S. State Department has had a bounty on al-Baghdadi’s head since 2016, and would pay $25 million for information that led to the ISIS leader’s capture or death.
President Trump couldn’t help but to tease the breaking news with a tweet that read: “Something very big has just happened!”
Something very big has just happened!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 27, 2019
The White House announced: “President of the United States will be making a major statement tomorrow morning at 9 o’clock from the White House.”
“President of the United States will be making a major statement tomorrow morning at 9 o’clock from the White House,” White House says.
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) October 27, 2019
This is breaking news and we will update the article when new information becomes available.