By Trisha Bala ’22, News Editor

On Sunday, October 27, President Trump announced the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Trump called Baghdadi the “world’s number one terrorist” while announcing his death on television. Baghdadi reportedly “blew himself up” after running into a tunnel where he detonated an explosive vest, killing himself and three of his children after being cornered by U.S. troops. Trump said that Baghdadi had been “under surveillance for a couple of weeks” and added,“Last night was a great night for the United States and for the world. A brutal killer, one who has caused so much hardship and death, has violently been eliminated.” In his announcement, Trump also thanked Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Russia, and Syrian Kurds for their cooperation. The death of Baghdadi marks the end of a hunt that took place over the course of many years to find one of the most wanted terrorists in the world and the man who proclaimed a caliphate (the rule or reign of a Muslim leader)  in Iraq and Syria in 2014. The death of Baghdadi has been the most significant announcement of the death of a terrorist since Obama declared Osama Bin Laden’s death in 2011.

Mark Esper, the Defense Secretary, believes that Baghdadi’s death will have a powerful impact on ISIS and called it a “devastating blow. This is not just their leader, it’s their founder. He was an inspirational leader in many ways. He formed ISIS in 2014, he led to establishing the physical caliphate throughout the region, so this is a major blow to them.” Though the death of Baghdadi is significant to ISIS, they will most likely find a different member to lead them.

The operation started at around 5:00 in the evening on Saturday. Eight helicopters carrying US troops flew over dangerous territory towards the Syrian compound. Other US aircraft and ships were also involved in the operation. The helicopters were met with some local gunfire, but were able to eliminate the threat by responding back with gunfire. When they arrived at the compound, the troops had to breach a wall to avoid any booby traps. According to Trump, “all hell broke loose” after troops entered the compound. While they were clearing the compound, US forces had to kill many ISIS fighters during a gun battle. Many ISIS fighters died, but the US troops did not suffer any casualties. It was reported that approximately two ISIS fighters were captured, 11 children were taken into custody, and two of Baghdadi’s wives died. Baghdadi tried to take refuge in a tunnel with three of his children, but the tunnel had a dead end, so they were stuck. Baghdadi was wearing a suicide vest and when he reached the end of the tunnel, he ignited it, killing himself and his children. Trump added that US forces were able to obtain “highly sensitive material and information from the raid, much having to do with ISIS – origins, future plans, things that we really want.” DNA tests confirmed that the person who was killed was in fact Baghdadi.

As mentioned before, Baghdadi was found because the US was closely surveilling him for a few weeks leading up to the operation. Trump told reporters that a few missions were scrapped before they came up with the successful mission. The CIA was able to locate Baghdadi and shared his location with the Department of Defense. Then, earlier in the week, Trump and Pence were notified of Baghdadi’s possible location and learned that it was highly likely that he was in the compound. That is when Trump made the plans for the mission. On Thursday, the President chose the final plan and gave the troops the green light on Friday. On Saturday, when the White House received more intelligence, the mission was finally in action. 

Many countries have shared their reaction since the death of Baghdadi was publicly announced on Sunday. Saudi Arabia said that Baghdadi had a “distorted image of Islam” and hailed his death by US forces on Monday. Egypt’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ahmed Hafez, said it was an important step in the efforts to combat terrorism. The Turkish president said the killing “marked a turning point in our joint fight against terrorism.” Afghanistan viewed the killing as a major blow to ISIS. Finally, Iran’s information minister, Mohammed Javad Azari-Jahromi, said the killing was “not a big deal. You just killed your creature.” 

Even though Baghdadi may be dead, ISIS is far from done. The group has followers and power in many different parts of the world. Just because Baghdadi died, ISIS’s network and followers will not disappear. Others will come and take over Baghdadi’s previous position of leadership. Baghdadi’s elimination to ISIS is a big blow, but it is far from the end.