Pentagon releases images on IS leader raid
WASHINGTON — The general who oversaw the U.S. raid on Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi provided the most detailed account yet of the operation Wednesday and said the U.S. is on alert for possible “retribution attacks” by extremists.
Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, said al-Baghdadi’s remains were buried at sea within 24 hours of his death inside an underground tunnel where he fled as special operations soldiers closed in on him.
The Pentagon released the first government photos and video clips of the weekend operation, including one showing Delta Force commandos approaching the walls of the compound.
Another video showed American airstrikes on other militants who fired at helicopters carrying soldiers to the compound.
The attacking American force launched from an undisclosed location inside Syria for the one-hour helicopter ride to the compound, McKenzie said.
Two children died with al-Baghdadi when he detonated a bomb vest, McKenzie said, adding that this was one fewer than originally reported.
He said the children appeared to be under the age of 12. Four women and two men who were wearing suicide vests and refused to surrender inside the compound were killed, McKenzie said.
The general said the male military dog that was injured when he came in contact with exposed live electrical cables in the tunnel during the raid had been on approximately 50 combat missions.
McKenzie offered no new details about al-Baghdadi’s final moments in the nighttime raid when asked by a reporter about Trump’s description of the Islamic State leader as “whimpering and crying and screaming all the way” to his death.