OPERATION KAYLA MUELLER / BARISHA RAID

Oct. 29, 2019

On 27 October 2019, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi killed himself and three children by detonating a suicide vest during the Barisha raid conducted by the Delta Force, in Syria's northwestern Idlib Province, according to a statement by President Donald Trump.

About:

  • Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (1971 – 2019) was the leader of the Islamic State (ISIS) militant terrorist organisation.

  • In 2014, the ISIS announced the establishment of a worldwide caliphate. Al-Baghdadi was named its caliph, to be known as "Caliph Ibrahim".

  • He was designated by the United States Department of State as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.

Operation Kayla Mueller / Barisha raid

  • The Barisha raid was a United States military operation in Barisha, Idlib Governorate, in northwestern Syria targeting Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) leadership, notably its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, on October 26-27, 2019.

  • The special forces raid was officially code-named Operation Kayla Mueller after the American humanitarian worker who was held captive, tortured, and sexually abused by Baghdadi before her death in 2015.

  • According to U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump, Baghdadi killed himself when he detonated a suicide belt.