The US military on Wednesday unveiled first images and videos of its commando operation in Syria that led to the death of the head of the Islamic State (IS) Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, five other members of the jihadist group, and two " young children ".
The commando approach
Donald Trump had considered starting Monday to make public extracts of the video of the raid, which he could personally follow in real time from the White House thanks to the embedded cameras of the members of the special forces.
Wednesday, at a press conference, the Pentagon broadcast several photos and video clips where we see including a dozen soldiers approach, in the night of Saturday to Sunday, the compound of the complex where was hidden the chief jihadist in a village in northwestern Syria. The Pentagon has made some clarifications about the progress of the operation.
VIDEO: Pentagon video of the US special forces raid that resulted in the death of Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadihttps: //t.co/vGZ58IsWVtpic.twitter.com/A7EqCbNgLL
- AFP news agency (@AFP) October 31, 2019Thus, when Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi detonated the bomb he was carrying in the tunnel in which he was cornered, the detonation killed, in addition to himself, two young children, and not three like the American authorities. initially stated it. "In addition to the two children," "six IS members died in total" during the raid: "four women and two men including Baghdadi," said General Kenneth McKenzie, chief of the US Central Command. The women were "threatening" and wearing explosive vests.
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He assured that eleven other children had been "protected by the assault forces" and two men captured. Electronic equipment and documents in "substantial" quantities have been seized. Other unidentified fighters were killed in the area when they opened fire on US helicopters, said the general without providing the number. A video showing air strikes against this group of fighters was broadcast. As for the dog-soldier hailed as an "American hero" by President Donald Trump, who preceded the military in the tunnel, he was wounded by electric wires laid bare by the detonation provoked by the jihadist leader, but he is ready to resume service.
The destroyed complex
Of Baghdadi's compound. Can see US forces approaching the compound: https://t.co/OEDs6N9YXcpic.twitter.com/ozOLRLAd0h
- Jake Godin (@JakeGodin) October 30, 2019 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's DNA was taken from the debris and later compared with that obtained during his stay in a prison in Iraq in 2004, confirming "without a shadow of a doubt" that he was he was acting well.
Once the operation was over, the complex was "destroyed" to prevent it from becoming "a place of pilgrimage", General McKenzie added, showing images that in his view resemble "a wasteland with big potholes ". The remains of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi were "submerged at sea according to the laws of war within 24 hours of his death," he added.