America on alert for revenge attacks after killing of IS warlord

THE general who oversaw the US raid on the leader of the so-called Islamic State group has said the country is on alert for possible “retribution attacks”.

General Frank McKenzie, head of US Central Command, said Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s remains were buried at sea within 24 hours of his death.

The Pentagon released the first government photos and video clips of the night- time operation, including one showing Delta Force commandos approaching the walls of the compound in which al-Baghdadi and others were found.

Another video showed American air strikes on other militants who fired at helicopters carrying soldiers to the compound.

The US also bombed the compound after the soldiers completed the mission so it would not stand as a shrine to al-Baghdadi.

The American force launched from an undisclosed location inside Syria for the one-hour helicopter ride to the compound in Syria’s north-west Idlib province, he added.

Two c h i l d r e n d i e d wi t h al-Baghdadi when he detonated a bomb vest, the general said.

He said the children appeared to be under the age of 12.

Eleven other children were escorted from the site unharmed, while four women and two men who were wearing suicide vests and refused to surrender were killed, Gen McKenzie said.

He said the military dog that was injured during the raid is a four-year veteran with US Special Operations Command and had been on about 50 combat missions.

Gen McKenzie said the dog was injured when it came in contact with exposed live electrical cables in the tunnel after al-Baghdadi detonated his vest, but has returned to duty.

Al-Baghdadi was identified by comparing his DNA to a sample collected in 2004 by US forces in Iraq, where he had been detained.

Although the raid was successful, the general said it would be a mistake to conclude that IS has been defeated. “We suspect they will try some form of retribution attack,” he said.

On al-Baghdadi’s final moments, the general said: “He crawled into a hole with two small children and blew himself up.”

President Donald Trump described the IS leader as “whimpering and crying and screaming all the way” to his death.