Last week of October, 2019 certainly brought a sigh of relief for Syria and Iraq’s citizens when the US President announced the death of IS supreme leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a raid conducted in the northern Syria by the US elite forces. The elusive leader of the Islamic State group is claimed to have died in the raid. Soon after the raid happened the news was circulated in global media and various speculations surrounded the news.
But despite all the rumors it was sure a triumphant moment for the US President. Recently the United States released first images of the raid and thus put a full stop on all the so called rumors spread by various radical Islamic groups. It was stated that Baghdadi tried to flee through a tunnel but ended detonating a suicide vest along with two children. The compound which was identified as the hideout of the brutal leader was then destroyed with munitions.
How the US Got Hold of Baghdadi?
It was surely not possible without the input of local informants. Over the past few weeks the US military and its superiors were following cluster of leads. With the help of Syrian Democratic Forces, local informants and leads generated from the wives of Baghdadi and a courier who was arrested over the summer made the mission possible. The mission has certainly blown away the IS objectives of further strengthening their lost glory in Syria and Iraq.
How the Mission Was Carried Out?
The United States is working with allied forces in the Syrian region to eliminate Islamic State’s control over various territories. Prior the raid all the allied forces and forces of Iraq, Turkey, Russia, Kurdish were informed of an attack in Idlib region but no specific details were revealed. It was believed that Baghdadi wanted to rebuild IS in the region because the Kurdish led forces recently captured the last known pocket of territory from IS in March this year.
What It Could Mean For The US and Rest of the World?
For the time being it can be predicted that the western Syria and Eastern Iraq where ISIS was brutally strong will experience peace for a while but it doesn’t mean that the demise of its self-styled Caliphate and leader will stop IS to not stand again. US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien along with General Mark Milley and Mark Esper are sure to keep a close eye on the events that will happen post Baghdadi’s death and will not want a supreme leader with Baghdadi’s mindset to evolve again and distort the peace that is expected to prevail in the Gulf region. But it all depends on the local dynamics of Syria and the probability whether IS has a leader or not.
IS is financially very strong and to uproot it, furious actions are required. At its peak IS used to control around 34,000 sq miles of territory and generated billions of dollars from oil, kidnapping and extortion. So it’s not a swift road for the United States to completely eliminate IS and retribution attacks at the moment.
