Drone footage shows completely leveled compound where ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died
- ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi exploded a suicide bomb and died on Saturday as US troops surrounded his compound in northwestern Syria.
- New drone footage shows what remains of that compound, after US fighter jets leveled it after the raid.
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New drone footage shows what remains of the Syrian compound where ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died as US Delta Force commandos raided the secret lair on Saturday.
Turkish state-run news outlet Anadolu Agency released the footage Monday. It shows the compound in Barissa, Syria, completely leveled, with people milling about in the rubble.
US fighter jets fired six rockets into the building after the kill team left, in order to prevent the building from turning into a shrine for the terrorist leader.
Watch the full video below:
Earlier this month, Trump announced he was removing American troops from northern Syria, causing Turkey to invade the region, which may explain why it was a Turkish news outlet that got to the scene first to take the drone video.
Trump said Al-Baghdadi fled into an underground network of tunnels when the raid started, wearing a suicide vest and bringing three children with him.
When he reached the end of the tunnel, Trump said the most wanted terrorist in the world ignited the suicide vest, killing himself and all three of the children.
The explosion caused the tunnel to cave in, so US forces weren't able to completely remove Baghdadi's body. But they got enough of it to conduct DNA testing to confirm that the man was indeed the head of ISIS.
US forces stayed on the scene for about two hours, recovering highly sensitive information on the group.
- Read more:
- Activist video purports to show moment of US raid on al-Baghdadi ISIS compound. Photos show the wreckage left in its wake.
- Trump downplayed central role Kurds played in Baghdadi raid after abandoning them in Syria
- Spies stole ISIS leader al-Baghdadi's underwear to help confirm his location before the US raid, Kurdish forces say
- The US military is preparing to release photos and videos of the secretive mission against the leader of ISIS