This archive report was first published on 29 October 2019.
On October 27, 2019, a US raid in northwestern Syria resulted in the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the founder of the Islamic State group. The operation was largely the result of intelligence work by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), in collaboration with the CIA.
According to Polat Can, a senior adviser to the SDF, the intelligence work began on May 15, 2019, with the goal of tracking and monitoring al-Baghdadi closely.
"Al-Baghdadi changed his places of residence very often," Polat Can said, adding that the SDF's undercover agent managed to reach the house where the IS chief was believed to be hiding.
The agent, who remained anonymous, brought al-Baghdadi's underwear for a DNA test to confirm the identity of the person in question.
"Our own source, who had been able to reach al-Baghdadi, brought al-Baghdadi's underwear to conduct a DNA test and make sure (100%) that the person in question was al-Baghdadi himself," Polat Can wrote on Twitter.
US President Donald Trump announced the death of al-Baghdadi on Sunday, thanking Syrian Kurdish forces "for a certain support they were able to give us" but did not elaborate.
Trump also thanked Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and Russia for their cooperation in the operation.
The Pentagon confirmed that Baghdadi's body had been disposed of at sea.
