This archive report was first published on 29 October 2019.
On October 27, 2019, US special forces carried out a daring operation in northwestern Syria, resulting in the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the founder and spiritual guide of the Islamic State (IS) group.
The operation, which involved a nearly hundred-strong force, was a culmination of years of tracking and intelligence gathering by the US and its allies.
According to Defense Secretary Mark Esper, the US military executed the raid in all its facets brilliantly, with no one injured in the operation.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley confirmed that the US team took fire when they arrived, but they were able to take two men prisoner and confirm Baghdadi's identity through a DNA test.
Baghdadi's body was then disposed of at sea, in accordance with the law of armed conflict, in a similar manner to the 2011 sea burial of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
The operation was a result of coordination with Russians, Kurds, Turks, and President Bashar al-Assad's regime to prevent US aircraft from being fired upon.
Attention also focused on the unnamed US military dog, which chased Baghdadi into a tunnel under the complex and cornered him before he detonated his suicide vest.
The dog, likely a Belgian Malinois, was slightly wounded but is fully recovering, according to General Milley.
