STORY
Donald Trump announced it with great fanfare on Sunday: the head of the Islamic State Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed by an American commando. In the aftermath of this large-scale operation, Didier François, defense and terrorism specialist at Europe 1, unveils the details of this attack, which led to the elimination of one of the most emblematic leaders of Daesh.
"It all started on the basis of intelligence, found by the Kurds elsewhere, which located Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in northwestern Syria, in the Idlib region, and more precisely in the village of Barisha, just seven kilometers from the Turkish border, was hiding in a beautiful house with two of his wives, his children, and a very good security guard, and for several weeks the place was observed watched very discreetly and permanently. opportunity for action turned out this weekend.
Heard on europe1:
"This is an extremely hard blow that has been brought to the Islamic State"
It was this opportunity that immediately triggered the assault, given in the night from Saturday to Sunday by a mixed team of Special Forces commandos and the CIA. They arrived aboard eight helicopters: four remained in support, and four laid down the intervention teams. It was at midnight that US forces began the fight to eliminate the guards. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had buried himself in a tunnel under the house with his wives and children. He unleashed his explosive belt as the commandos unleashed their attack dog. Special forces operators have therefore formally identified it after DNA sampling.
It was an extremely hard blow that was brought to the Islamic State with the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, he was the undisputed leader of a very pyramidal organization, and he was very charismatic among the jihadists. It must be remembered that he had nevertheless cut with arms a territory the size of Great Britain which he proclaimed himself the Caliphate in July 2014. It took five years and fierce fighting to liquidate this base back of terrorism, since it was there that the Paris and Brussels attacks were conceived. So yes, we can legitimately think that the combined disappearance of ISIS as a territory and that of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was the architect, greatly reduces this threat.
Heard on europe1:
The death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi does not sign the end of the Islamic State
However, the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi does not sign the end of the Islamic State: from his first military defeats in Iraq and then in Syria, the organization went into hiding with dormant cells that have real military means that allow him to wage a war of harassment. Especially since the Turkish operation in the north of Syria opens new prospects for it. So nothing is finished. We must certainly remain very vigilant, but it will still take a few months for a new figure emerges and it imposes on the entire organization.
>> READ ALSO - "Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead, but the ideology of Daesh is still there," recalls Wassim Nasr
It was clear after the death of Osama Bin Laden, his successor Ayman Zawihri has never managed to take the same stature. However, al-Qaeda is not dead. She has survived, adapted, and still represents a danger. But she never made an attack like the one of September 11, 2001. "