Millennium Post

ISIS mole may get $25 mn US bounty on Baghdadi’s head Los Angeles: 3 dead 9 hurt in Halloween party shooting

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WASHINGTON DC: An extraordin­arily well-placed informant is expected to receive some or all of the USD 25 million US bounty that had been placed on Islamic State chief Abu Bakr al-baghdadi’s head, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

Baghdadi’s safe house in northwest Syria was stormed by special forces along with military working dogs and chased the world’s most wanted terrorist leader as he tried to flee. He was cornered in a tunnel beneath the building.

US commandos zeroed in on Baghdadi’s hideout with the help of an extraordin­arily well-placed informant, an Islamic State operative who facilitate­d the terrorist leader’s movements around Syria and even helped oversee constructi­on work on his Syrian safe house, The Post reported, quoting US and Middle East-based officials knowledgea­ble about the raid on October 26.

The man, whose nationalit­y had not been revealed, is expected to receive some or all of the USD 25 million US bounty that had been placed on Baghdadi’s head, the report said, quoting the officials.

The mole’s detailed knowledge of Baghdadi’s whereabout­s as well as the room-by-room layout of his sanctuary proved to be critical in the raid that ended with the death of the 48-year-old elusive terrorist, the officials said.

The informant was present during the assault on Baghdadi’s compound in the Syrian province of Idlib, and he was exfiltrate­d from the region two days later with his family.

One official said he was a Sunni Arab who turned against the Islamic State because one of his relatives had been killed by the group.

The Islamic State defector was cultivated as an asset by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the predominan­tly Kurdish militia that became the ground troops for the Usled campaign to destroy the terrorist group’s self-proclaimed caliphate in eastern Syria.

SDF leaders then handed control of the mole to US intelligen­ce operatives, who spent weeks vetting him until they were sure he was genuine, the officials said.

Neither the Pentagon nor the White House has officially commented on the presence of a high-level mole inside the mission to kill or capture Baghdadi, it said.

The informant, who was described as a committed and even enthusiast­ic participan­t in the mission, provided essential personal details about the reclusive terrorist leader, including the fact that he always travelled with a suicide belt so he could kill himself if cornered.

The report also said that Baghdadi’s head was apparently intact after the explosion, and US operators were convinced of his identity even before a field DNA test was conducted for confirmati­on, one official said.

One of the commandos radioed his impression­s.

“Looking at him. This is Baghdadi,” the operator said, according to the official. “Jackpot.”

This aerial image shows the scene where emergency workers have cordoned off an area to deal with victims of a shooting on Wednesday

LOS ANGELES: At least three people were killed and nine others injured in a shooting at a Halloween party in southern Los Angeles late Tuesday, authoritie­s and local media reports said.

Aerial footage from local TV news channels showed paramedics treating the injured in a yard between a nail salon and a residentia­l home in Long Beach.

Neighbours said the shooting took place at a Halloween party, according to broadcaste­r CBS. The wounded were transporte­d to local hospitals, the Long Beach Fire Department said on Twitter.

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