IS defector helps nail terrorist
Informant’s insider knowledge helped lead Americans to Baghdadi’s hideout
US COMMANDOS zeroed in on Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s final hiding place with the help of an extraordinarily well-placed informant, an Islamic State operative who facilitated the terrorist leader’s movements across Syria and even helped oversee construction work on his Syrian safe house.
US and Middle East officials knowledgeable about the operation said the mole’s knowledge of Baghdadi’s whereabouts as well as the layout of his sanctuary proved to be critical in Saturday’s raid that ended with the death of the world’s most-wanted terrorist.
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.
The man, whose nationality had not been revealed, is expected to receive some, or all, of the $25 million (R366m) bounty that had been placed on Baghdadi’s head, say the officials.
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 had been cultivated as an asset by the Syrian Democratic Forces, the predominantly Kurdish militia that became the ground troops for the US-led campaign to destroy the terrorist group’s self-proclaimed caliphate in eastern Syria. SDF leaders then handed control of the agent to US intelligence operatives, who spent weeks vetting him until they were sure he was genuine.
SDF leader general, Mazloum Abdi told NBC News on Monday that one of his organisation’s informants had helped lead the Americans to the compound, and said personal items were taken for DNA testing to confirm Baghdadi’s presence in the building.
Army general, Mark Milley, the chairperson of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, answered indirectly when asked on Monday whether someone affiliated to the SDF was involved in the raid.
“I’m not going to comment on what may or may not have happened with the SDF on the objective,” he said. “The actions on the objective, the aircraft coming in, the aircraft overhead and the soldiers conducting the assault, was a US-only operation.”
The description of the informant and his contribution was provided by two current and former US officials and a Middle East official, all privy to detailed information about the aid. All three spoke on the condition of anonymity.
One said the informant was a trusted facilitator and logistics aide who was involved in helping Baghdadi move among safe houses in the Idlib area before relocating to the compound where he met his end.
The informant, who was described as a committed and enthusiastic participant in the mission, provided 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.
Baghdadi’s compound was stormed by members of the military’s elite Delta Force and 75th Ranger Regiment, several US officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The commandos blasted their way into the house after a firefight and later cornered Baghdadi in a tunnel beneath the building. The Iraqi terrorist had taken three of his children with him, apparently as human shields.
Baghdadi detonated his suicide belt after one of the US team’s military dogs charged him. He and his three children were killed and their bodies partly buried in debris as the tunnel’s ceiling collapsed. Two of his wives were also killed in the operation.
US officials said the informant was vetted with care as intelligence agencies sought to avoid a repeat of the CIA’s 2009 disaster at Khost, Afghanistan, when a Jordanian informant with promising information about al-Qaeda leaders detonated a bomb during a meeting, killing seven American intelligence operatives along with a Jordanian and an Afghan driver.
A US official said the informant flipped sides because he had lost faith in the Islamic State.
US and Middle Eastern officials say the raid was the culmination of years of work involving a half-dozen foreign partners and allies.
Since at least 2015, teams of US commandos, accompanied by Iraqi and Kurdish forces, were embedded in the region to search for Baghdadi and other senior Islamic State leaders. They achieved multiple successes, such as the killing of Islamic State propaganda chief Abu Muhammad al-Adnani in 2016. But Baghdadi proved to be a more elusive quarry because of his frequent movement and refusal to use cellphones or other trackable devices.
A Middle Eastern official privy to details of the search said the focus of the manhunt shifted to Idlib, with teams of US and French operators and top-of-the-line surveillance equipment scouring the region.
Idlib, a province occupied by rival militias and far from the Islamic State’s base, initially seemed an unlikely choice. “Nobody can get in there,” the US official said, describing it as ridden with Islamist extremists. “The Russians own the airspace.”
With the informant’s help, US officials narrowed their focus to the town of Barisha, in north-west Idlib province, where Baghdadi moved into a secure compound.
The planning for the raid began last Wednesday, with the expectation that the terrorist chief might be taken alive.
The assault force surrounded the compound and told the occupants to surrender, one official said.
Almost a dozen children emerged along with several adults, but Baghdadi remained inside, fleeing with three of his children into the tunnel.
The assault force commander opted not to retrieve the bodies of those killed with Baghdadi who were wearing suicide vests, the official said.
“People were lying dead under all this rubble,” the official said. “We’d have to dig them out. And they’ve got sensitised explosives on them. It’s just too dangerous.”
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, the official said.
One of the commandos radioed his impressions.
“Looking at him. This is Baghdadi,” the operator said, according to the official. “Jackpot.”