Analysis: Overnight Attack That Killed Al-Baghdadi Raises Many Questions
Analysis: Overnight Attack That Killed Al-Baghdadi Raises Many Questions by Seth J. Frantzman – Jerusalem Post
A nighttime raid. Helicopters. Special forces. A high-value terrorist target. Concerns about identifying him. All this would have been on the list of challenges facing the Bin Laden raid planners in 2011. On Sunday morning, it was another group of Americans hunting ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, which had to go through the same complex set of obstacles to kill the bearded extremist hiding out in Idlib province near the Turkish border.
The raid began just after midnight when locals in towns near Barisha, just a few kilometers from the Turkish border, reported hearing helicopters. Drones were already in the air from just before midnight. Newsweek says that US President Donald Trump had approved the strike nearly a week ago. Members of the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta – the Delta Force – were brought in to take down the target. Observers at night are not that great at determining how many helicopters are landing next to them, but locals said that they heard as many as six “chasing” a convoy of vehicles. Two of the choppers landed.A confrontation took place. There were exchanges of gun fire. An explosion was seen. This might have gone on for around an hour. There were air strikes by several missiles. Later, drones circled overhead. Or maybe what happened was that helicopters were heard over Turkey crossing into Syria. Someone fired at the helicopters. Locals didn’t know if it was a Turkish raid or the US-led anti-ISIS coalition. Two helicopters landed out of the 12 that some said were involved. Or maybe it was eight helicopters, others said. Planes carried out air strikes…