https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/27/is ... di-killed/
Baghdadi is Dead, But ISIS Remains Emboldened Since Trump's Drawdown“The incredible thing is that this operation succeeded despite all the ways in which the Trump Administration made it more difficult,” said Dana Stroul, a former Pentagon official who is now a senior fellow with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.Spoiler:The raid by the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, known as Delta Force, was carried out Oct. 26 after a complicated CIA intelligence-collection operation aided by Syrian Kurdish forces and other U.S. partners in the region, including Iraqi Kurdistan, a senior U.S. administration official told Foreign Policy.Spoiler:
The operation, which involved helicopters and U.S. special operations forces on the ground, was launched from Erbil, Iraq, and inside Syria, the official said.The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) spent five months working with the U.S. government to gather intelligence on Baghdadi’s whereabouts, according to Kurdish and U.S. officials. Gen. Mazloum Abdi, SDF commander, was the only foreigner to know about the target, he told Foreign Policy through a translator. His account was confirmed independently by the senior U.S. official.Spoiler:
The operation was delayed for a full month by Turkey’s military activity at the border and the subsequent incursion into northeastern Syria, Mazloum said. Ankara moved into Syria days after Trump withdrew U.S. forces from the border in early October, a move that was widely seen as a green light for the Turkish operation.
“Trump rejected assessments and spilled classified intelligence, cut off our military operations at its knees with unplanned decisions like Syria, repeatedly treated Iraq with indifference, and appeared ready to throw out the relationship with the SDF only a few weeks ago,” said Stroul.
“Yet this operation relied on U.S. intelligence our military in Syria and Iraq, intelligence breakthroughs by the Iraqi government, and an intelligence network cultivated by the SDF at U.S. request.”
The Delta Force operation that led to Baghdadi’s death would have been “extremely difficult” to pull off without a presence on the ground, said one senior U.S. official, who criticized Trump’s abrupt decision to withdraw all but a few hundred U.S. forces from Syria.
Baghdadi’s death is “a blow to ISIS especially following the defeat of the caliphate. But the fight against ISIS is not over,” the official said. “We are less safe for withdrawing our forces in Syria.”
Meanwhile, reports emerged that Baghdadi’s right-hand man, Abu al-Hassan al-Muhajir, an Islamic State spokesman, was targeted in a separate operation conducted jointly by SDF intelligence and the US military. Mazloum said Muhajir was targeted near Ayn al-Bayda, close to Turkish-controlled Jarablus in the Aleppo province. U.S. officials have not yet confirmed the operation.The SDF, which has fought the Islamic State alongside the United States and others since 2015, contributed to the operation through a network of human intelligence throughout northern Syria, according to U.S. and Kurdish sources. Though Idlib is controlled primarily by Syrian rebels and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham—formerly known as the Nusra Front, the Syrian arm of al Qaeda—the SDF has “many sympathizers and informers” there, a Kurdish source said.Spoiler:
In March, a spokesperson for the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which makes up the backbone of the SDF, said their intelligence indicated Baghdadi was in Idlib.
“Successful& historical operation due to a joint intelligence work with the United States of America,” tweeted Mazloum.
The United States informed Turkey of the operation ahead of time to prevent an unintended clash of forces but did not specify the target due to concerns the information would be compromised, the U.S. official said. Ankara did not play a role in the operation.
“Turkey did not provide any assistance in this operation and he was located right next to their border,” the official said. “That shows you how little they do on countering ISIS.”In a statement, the SDF warned of the continuing dangers from ISIS and Turkish-backed forces in Syria.Spoiler:
“We warn the world of the danger that jihadi factions with the Turkish army may enter Ras al-Ain and Tel Abyad areas occupied by Turkey-backed militias and that the region could become another safe-haven in which ISIS may find opportunities to re-organize,” according to the statement. “We have already indicated that IS members and some senior leaders of the group have already moved to areas controlled by Turkish army in northern Syria.”
Reports emerged Sunday that Iraq claimed to have provided Baghdadi’s exact location. However, the U.S. official disputed that account, saying the operation was triggered by him showing up at a place where the team had already established intelligence collection.
