Pentagon Releases Videos And Images Of Raid That Killed ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
The Pentagon has released a bunch of images and videos of the 2-hour raid that Killed ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The videos and images that were released by the Pentagon show US Forces taking small arms fire from a number of locations as their helicopters were closing in the compound.
The videos show commandos approaching the compound of Baghdadi and aerial strikes that were carried out by US F-15 fighter jets and MQ-9 Reaper Drones.
Images that were shared by the Pentagon also showed the before and after images of the compound of Baghdadi.
Gen. Frank McKenzie said the DNA that was used to confirm the identity of Baghdadi was done from samples that were collected when he was detained at Camp Bucca in Iraq.
When reporters asked if Baghdadi was crying and whimpering when the raid happened, McKenzie said he could not confirm it.
General McKenzie did confirm that the ISIS leader did crawl into a hole with his 2 small children when he blew himself up.
It was first believed that Baghdadi had 3 children with him when he detonated his suicide vest, but updated information revealed that only 2 children had been with him.
It is reported that the 2 kids that were with him were 12-years-old.
General McKenzie did reveal that special operations forces that carried out the raid were pre-staged in Syria.
Talking about the operation, General McKenzie said, “Baghdadi was the subject of an intense inter-agency effort to bring him to justice, and that effort significantly advanced recently as we closed in on his whereabouts.”
He added, “As it became clear that we had gained fleeting and actionable intelligence on his hideout, we developed an execution level plan designed to capture or kill him and started preparing a special operations team for the mission.”
The special operators reportedly used tactical munitions to blow holes in the walls of the compound and entered it with K-9 military dogs.
McKenzie said the people in the compound were treated humanely during the operation, this includes the 11 children that were present in the compound during the raid.
He explained, “Despite the violent nature of the raid and the high profile nature of this assault, every effort was made to prevent civilian casualties, and to protect the children we suspected would be at the compound.”