A Syrian Kurdish spy stole Islamic State leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi’s underwear before a US special operations team raided his base in north eastern Syria on 26 October, killing him, a Kurdish official said.
Polat Can, a senior adviser to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), according to AFP, put out a series of tweets on Monday, outlining the details of the alleged intelligence-work that preceded the successful US raid.
In the third tweet of the thread, he wrote that a Kurdish “source” was able to reach Baghdadi’s living quarters and take his underwear for a DNA test to “make sure (100%) that the person in question was Al Baghdadi himself”.
According to Polat, the US raid happened right on time as the IS Chief, who often changed locations, was about to move to “a new place” in Syria’s Jerablus.
‘US Raid Result of SDF Intelligence’
The senior adviser also wrote that the successful US raid in Idlib was largely the result of the intelligence groundwork done by the SDF even though the Turkish offensive in northern Syria, launched on 9 October, had delayed the operation.
“Since 15 May, we have been working together with the CIA to track al-Baghdadi and monitor him closely,” he wrote.
“Our intelligence source was involved in sending coordinates, directing the airdrop, participating in and making the operation a success until the last minute.”Polat Can, Senior Adviser to Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)
US President Donald Trump confirmed on Sunday that al-Baghdadi, leader of the Islamic State group had “died like a dog” in a US military raid in Syria on Saturday night.
In his statement, he thanked Russia, Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Syrian Kurds for contributing to the operation.
Trump recently received global criticism after he ordered a pullback of US troops from northeastern Syria, leaving US allies against IS, the Syrian Kurds, open to a Turkish offensive.
(With inputs from AFP)
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