ISIS FOUNDER AND LEADER DEAD AFTER U.S. MILITARY RAID
By Miriam Raftery
October 27, 2019 (San Diego) – Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, founder and leader of the terrorist group ISIS, committed suicide after being trapped during a raid yesterday by U.S. military special forces in northwest Syria, President Donald Trump announced at a White House press conference.
Trump announced that the “number one terrorist leader” has “been brought to justice.” No U.S. personnel were lost in the operation, though a “large number” of Baghdadi’s associates were killed or captured including two women wearing suicide vests that detonated; they are believed to be Baghdadi’s wives.
Eleven children were removed prior to the raid, but reportedly Baghdadi took three of his children into a dead-end tunnel, where he ignited a suicide vest, killing himself and the youngsters. "He didn’t die a hero. He died a coward,” the President said. “Crying, whimpering, screaming and bringing kids with him to die"
CNN reports the military confirms al-Baghdadi was killed, though a DNA test remains pending. The terrorist leader has been the subject of an international manhunt for years, with several false reports of his death in the past.
But Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire voiced confidence that Baghdadi is dead. He thanked special forces for bringing “one of the world’s most wanted terrorists to justice.”
The daring raid occurred in a region of northwest Syria that has not been a U.S. stronghold.Trump left top Democrats in the dark about the operation, breaking protocol for such high-profile military actions. The success of the mission drew bipartisan praise, though House Speaker Nancy Pelosi questioned why “Russians but not top Congressional leaders were notified of the raid in advance.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the Senate’s top-ranking Democrat, learned of the raid on TV but told media afterwards, “Look, it’s great that we’ve gotten al-Baghdadi…He’s a dangerous man, an evil man. The fight against ISIS has to continue.” But he added, ""New Yorkers know all too well the destruction a small group of terrorists thousands of miles overseas can cause from so far away. I look forward to receiving a briefing about this raid and the plan to deal with the escaped ISIS prisoners."
The raid comes on the heels of the U.S. withdrawing troops from Syria, a move that drew international and bipartisan criticism of Trump. The action, done at the request of Turkey’s president, cleared the way for a Turkish assault on Kurdish fighters who were allies of the U.S. in our fight against ISIS in Syria. Trump has since indicated a larger residual force will be left in the region, but not before many Kurds fled the area, some Kurdish soldiers and civilians were killed, and over 800 ISIS fighters guarded by Kurds escaped.
According to the Washington Post, Vice President Mike Pence said that he and President Trump were informed Thursday of the raid’s location at the militants’ compound. Pence said Trump authorized the raid Saturday morning.
Death of Baghdadi, if confirmed by the DNA test, would be the highest-level terrorist death since special operations forces killed Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Ladin during a raid in Pakistan in 2011 ordered by President Barack Obama.
Locally, San Diego Congresswoman Susan Davis issued this statement on word of Baghdadi’s death: ““My gratitude to our well-trained and accomplished military and national security professionals, as well as our allies, for bringing Baghdadi down. The world is grateful for this barbarian’s end. Hopefully, this brings some relief to the families of his victims.”