Iraqi intelligence shared Baghdadi’s location with US-led coalition: report
Iraqi intelligence gave ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s location to the U.S.-led coalition fighting the terror group ahead of a raid in which he is believed to have died, an official told Reuters.
An Iraqi intelligence official told the news service that agents discovered documents at a secret location in the western deserts of Iraq that identified Baghdadi’s location after arresting an Iraqi man and woman believed to be close to the ISIS leader.
“We have been constantly coordinating with the CIA, providing valuable information that the Iraqi National Intelligence Service has on Baghdadi’s movements and place of hiding,” the official said. “This cooperation was successful and achieved the ultimate goal of killing Baghdadi.”
Trump announces Islamic State leader’s death on Sunday. According to the US president, the ISIL chief died after running into a tunnel in the village of Barisha where he detonated an explosive vest, killing himself and three of his children.
In the announcement, Trump thanked Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Russia and the Syrian Kurds for their cooperation.
World reaction to the news has been divided with some leaders hailing it as a turning point in the fight against “terrorism” while some governments played down its down significance.
The commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Mazloum Abdi said this achievement was a result of “joint intel cooperation.”
