Monday, October 28, 2019

On the Baghdadi raid...so far

Al Goodwyn
'Special breed of courageous': Delta Force operator hails valor of military dog wounded in Baghdadi raid  "Though no U.S. forces were killed in the Saturday evening raid that led to the death of an ISIS leader, one military working dog suffered severe injuries in the line of duty.
"The dog, whose name and breed remain unknown, chased Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi into a tunnel and cornered him. With no place to go, the terrorist leader blew himself up along with three of his children, who he was using as human shields. The dog’s injuries highlighted the importance of military working dogs in special operations. Often, they will enter the danger zone with a camera on their backs before the humans do so.
" 'The dog is a war veteran and a valued member of the team," a currently serving soldier assigned to Delta Force told the Washington Examiner. The soldier did not provide details, pending permission from the dog's handler and chain of command. Everyone involved in the mission is being debriefed and is out of communication for the time being, the soldier said. Within the community, he says, "The injury to the dog is an injury to one of us. These dogs are a special breed of courageous.' " . . .
Morning Greatness: Trump Kept Democrat ‘Leaking Machine’ in the Dark on Raid  . . . "Our military doesn’t deserve exploitation in the Democrats’ war against Trump. “We’ve notified some, others are being notified now as I speak,” Trump said. “We were going to notify them last night but we decided not to do that because Washington leaks like I’ve never seen before.' ” . . .  “I told my people we will not notify them until our great people are out, not just in, but out,” Trump said.
The man who killed bin Laden, praises US special forces who conducted al-Baghdadi raid  " . . . the U.S. Special Operations forces raid on ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was done in an intelligent, strategically sound way.
“ ''They were so smart about it," O'Neill said. "They knew the front door was probably booby-trapped so they went through a wall. They used their breachers, which is a method of entry. The guy or guys went in that way, and then just did what Delta [Force] does; they just got it on.”
"President Trump, announcing the death of al-Baghdadi, described him as dying "in a vicious and violent way, as a coward, running and crying.” His demise came when U.S. Special Operations Forces stormed his compound in the Idrib Province late Saturday night and cornered him in the back a dead-end tunnel. He detonated an explosive vest, taking his own life and killing three of his children." . . .


An aerial view taken on October 27, 2019 shows the site that was hit by helicopter gunfire which reportedly killed nine people near the northwestern Syrian village of Barisha in the Idlib province along the border with Turkey, where “groups linked to the Islamic State (IS) group” were present, according to a Britain-based war monitor with sources inside Syria. – The helicopters targeted a home and a car on the outskirts of Barisha, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, after US media said IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was believed to be dead following a US military raid in the same province. Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said the helicopters likely belonged to the US-led military coalition that has been fighting the extremist group in Syria. 

. . . "While in transit, the helicopters were met with local gunfire. US aircraft returned fire and eliminated the threat, Trump said.
"After arriving at the compound, US troops breached a wall to avoid a booby trapped entrance and that’s when “all hell broke loose,” the President added.
"While clearing the compound, US forces killed a “large number” of ISIS fighters during a gun battle without suffering casualties, according to Trump.
"At least two ISIS fighters were captured and 11 children were taken into custody. Two of Baghdadi’s wives were killed during the operation and their suicide vests remained unexploded.
"Ultimately Baghdadi, who was also wearing a suicide vest, took refuge in a “dead end” tunnel with three children.
"He reached the end of the tunnel, as our dogs chased him down. He ignited his vest, killing himself and the three children. His body was mutilated by the blast. The tunnel had caved in on it in addition,” Trump said.
"DNA tests that positively confirmed Baghdadi’s identity began “about 15 minutes after he was killed” and US teams on the ground “brought body parts back,” sources told CNN.
" 'The President also said US forces obtained “highly sensitive material and information from the raid, much having to do with ISIS — origins, future plans, things that we very much want.”

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