{"id":14116,"date":"2019-10-28T23:50:47","date_gmt":"2019-10-28T23:50:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/10\/28\/american-commando-raid-to-kill-al-baghdadi-was-launched-from-al-asad-airbase-rehearsals-conducted-in-erbil\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:43:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:43:40","slug":"american-commando-raid-to-kill-al-baghdadi-was-launched-from-al-asad-airbase-rehearsals-conducted-in-erbil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2019\/10\/28\/american-commando-raid-to-kill-al-baghdadi-was-launched-from-al-asad-airbase-rehearsals-conducted-in-erbil\/","title":{"rendered":"American commando raid to kill al-Baghdadi was launched from al-Asad Air Base, rehearsals conducted in Erbil"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The<a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2019\/10\/28\/syrian-kurds-increase-security-at-prisons-after-al-baghdadis-death-while-a-2nd-isis-leader-may-have-been-killed-in-separate-operation\/\" target=_blank> American commando<\/a> raid that bagged Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was launched from the sprawling al-Asad Air Base in Anbar province, Iraq, according to a source on the ground with direct knowledge of the operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The source told Military Times on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record that U.S. forces rehearsed the raid in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2019\/10\/28\/islamic-state-still-poses-a-threat-after-al-baghdadis-death\/\" target=_blank>Erbil<\/a>, Iraq, using concrete T-walls to practice breaching. While on the ground during the raid to capture or kill the ISIS leader, American forces blew a hole in the side of the compound \u2014 avoiding the booby-trapped entrance, President Donald Trump detailed Sunday morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">American commandos also launched from a second location in Syria, the source said. But it\u2019s unknown if the target of that raid force was al-Baghdadi. Military Times is withholding the location of where U.S. forces launched from within Syria due to operational security concerns. The site is home to a Joint Special Operations Command base hosting Delta Force and Army Rangers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Just hours after the ISIS leader\u2019s demise became public, Syrian Democratic Forces \u2014 the U.S.-backed anti-ISIS force in northern Syria \u2014 announced that a close associate to al-Baghdadi, Abu Hassan al-Muhajir, was killed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mazloum Abd\u00ee, the commander of the SDF, tweeted Sunday that al-Muhajir was killed due to SDF intelligence shared with the U.S. military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Pentagon would not confirm the launch points for the operation when asked by Military Times, citing operational security. Officials with Operation Inherent Resolve \u2014 the U.S.-led mission to defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria \u2014 did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2019\/10\/28\/injured-military-dog-who-chased-down-al-baghdadi-returned-to-full-duty\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/BaghdadiDog.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Injured military dog who chased down al-Baghdadi returned to full duty<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The military working dog who chased down ISIS leader al-Baghdadi was slightly injured during the raid and has been returned to duty.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Saturday, nearly 100 American commandos launched a brazen nighttime heliborne raid in al-Qaida-infested Idlib province, Syria, to kill the elusive ISIS leader al-Baghdadi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cornered in a dead-end tunnel with American military working dogs bearing down on him, al-Baghdadi detonated a suicide vest killing himself and three children he had dragged into the tunnel with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A working dog was injured in the blast. But Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters Monday at the Pentagon that the dog has since returned to duty with his handler.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Secretary of Defense Mark Esper told the Sunday morning ABC news show \u201cThis Week\u201d that American troops rehearsed actions on the objective about a week before the raid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"5760\" height=\"3840\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19300496112355.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"Barisha\" class=\"wp-image-30366\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19300496112355.jpg.jpg 5760w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19300496112355.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19300496112355.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19300496112355.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19300496112355.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19300496112355.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 5760px) 100vw, 5760px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">People look at a destroyed houses near the village of Barisha, in Idlib province, Syria, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019, after an operation by the U.S. military which targeted Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the shadowy leader of the Islamic State group. (Ghaith Alsayed\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Milley said Monday that two adult males were pulled off the target site where al-Baghdadi was killed and are being held in at a secure facility. Milley provided no other details about the location of the detainees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Al-Baghdadi\u2019s remains were moved to a secure location where they were identified and later disposed of in accordance with the law of armed conflict, according to Milley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">American troops were amid a withdrawal from Syria prior to Saturday\u2019s raid that killed the founder and leader of ISIS. Trump has since slightly backtracked on the decision to vacate northern Syria entirely \u2014 opting to keep a small residual force to protect oil wells and counter a potential ISIS resurgence.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2019\/10\/27\/trump-says-al-baghdadi-died-like-a-dog-in-us-commando-raid-in-syria\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19300512174311.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Trump says al-Baghdadi &#8216;died like a dog\u2019 in US commando raid in Syria<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Al-Baghdadi\u2019s last moments alive were spent in \u201cpanic and dread\u201d as the ISIS leader was \u201cterrified of the American forces bearing down on him,&quot; and he died \u201cwhimpering and crying and screaming\u201d like a coward, Trump told reporters Sunday.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Esper reiterated Monday during a Pentagon press briefing that U.S. forces moving back into Syria will included some \u201cmechanized\u201d forces. But the Pentagon has not provided any details on what kind of mechanized forces will move into eastern Syria near the oil fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Esper told reporters Monday that he still expects U.S. force numbers to be below the roughly 1,000 troops that had been based in the country before Trump\u2019s order to withdraw. But experts argue the use of American armor to protect oil fields in Syria could require additional forces and put a strain on military logistics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The oil fields in eastern Syria are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2019\/10\/27\/russia-calls-us-move-to-protect-syrian-oil-banditry\/\" target=_blank>a contentious issue<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This area has been the scene of unusual confrontations with U.S. forces, such as a one-sided battle in February 2018 in which a pro-Syrian government force reported to be mainly private Russian mercenaries unleashed an artillery barrage near a small U.S. military outpost. As then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis recounted the episode in congressional testimony two months later, he ordered the attacking force to be \u201cannihilated \u2014 and it was\u201d after Russian authorities insisted the attackers were not their troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"5472\" height=\"3648\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19299638866869.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"U.S. military convoy\" class=\"wp-image-30370\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19299638866869.jpg.jpg 5472w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19299638866869.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19299638866869.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19299638866869.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19299638866869.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19299638866869.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 5472px) 100vw, 5472px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. military convoy drives the he town of Qamishli, north Syria, by a poster showing Syrain President Bashar Aassad Saturday, Oct. 26. 2019. A U.S. convoy of over a dozen vehicles was spotted driving south of the northeastern city of Qamishli, likely heading to the oil-rich Deir el-Zour area where there are oil fields, or possibly to another base nearby. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, also reported the convoy, saying it arrived earlier from Iraq. (Baderkhan Ahmad\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Pentagon has consistently stated that the U.S. mission to protect the Syrian oil fields is aimed at keeping the oil out of the hands of a potential ISIS resurgence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, Esper acknowledged Monday, that American forces in the region would also block access to the lucrative oil fields from Syrian and Russian forces. Esper said that the SDF rely on funds from the oil fields to help fund their forces and maintain ISIS prisons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Esper also said American forces protecting the oil fields were prepared to use \u201coverwhelming military force\u201d in self defense of their forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Esper said Monday that he has seen no sign of Syrian or Russian forces challenging U.S. control of the oil fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Associated Press, citing a U.S. official, reported that the U.S. has detected what appears to be a massing of Russian and Syrian forces on the western side of the Euphrates River near Deir el-Zour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Russian officials were contacted by phone, and the U.S. was given assurances that the staged forces would not move east, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jim Jeffrey, the Trump administration\u2019s special envoy for Syria, seemed to refer to this episode when he said last Friday, \u201cWe are currently very concerned about certain developments in the south, in the Deir el-Zour area. I\u2019ve talked to my Russian colleague about that and we\u2019re having other contacts with the Russians concerning that situation. We think it is under control now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After expelling Islamic State militants from southeastern Syria in 2018, the Kurds seized control of the more profitable oil fields to the south in Deir el-Zour province.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The U.S. will also keep a small number of U.S. troops at the Tanf garrison near the Syria-Iraq border. American commandos housed at Tanf are tasked with training an anti-ISIS force separate from the SDF mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>This story contains information from the Associated Press.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The American commando raid that bagged Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was launched from the sprawling al-Asad airbase in Anbar province Iraq, according to a source on the ground with direct knowledge of the operation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":30359,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":13,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,13,16,26,65],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3412,3237],"class_list":["post-14116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"EC5FCWFCB5BNTPNK4RPWZNG5S4","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/2019\/10\/28\/american-commando-raid-to-kill-al-baghdadi-was-launched-from-al-asad-airbase-rehearsals-conducted-in-erbil\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>American commando raid to kill al-Baghdadi was launched from al-Asad Air Base, rehearsals conducted in Erbil - Air Force TImes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The American commando raid that bagged Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was launched from the sprawling al-Asad airbase in Anbar province Iraq, according to a source on the ground with direct knowledge of the operation.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/flashpoints\/2019\/10\/28\/american-commando-raid-to-kill-al-baghdadi-was-launched-from-al-asad-airbase-rehearsals-conducted-in-erbil\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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