Just released: footage of the Delta Force raid that killed Baghdadi

Image from video footage of raid that killed ISIS leader Baghdadi
Photo credit photo courtesy Department of Defense

We are now getting a visual of the Delta Force raid that killed ISIS leader Abū Bakr al-Baghdadi on October 26.

The Pentagon has released edited footage of the raid, dubbed Operation Kayla Mueller.  Here's what we know from looking at it:

Next, we see assaulters from D-Squadron of 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, better known as Delta Force, closing in on Baghdadi's compound. Also on the operation were Rangers assigned to 2nd Ranger battalion. On the video, one assault team can be seen moving towards the outer wall of the compound, while a second team approaches from another angle, which helps isolate the target so that if Baghdadi or his followers attempt to escape they can be shot or captured.

The footage cuts out, so it is unknown if the assaulters scaled the wall with a ladder or what their next actions may have been.

  • Background: The Pentagon and the White House did brief that the assaulters did not breach the door of the compound to get inside, but rather they explosively breached one of the walls in order to gain access inside. This was due to concerns about the door being boobytrapped with an improvised explosive devise. Delta operators have also had experiences in Iraq where the front door to a compound (sometimes referred to as a fatal funnel because it channelizes soldiers during entry) had been left open to bait them in, where the enemy had fighting positions built up inside to ambush them. Clearly, this potential was avoided by simply blowing through one of the outer walls.

What isn't included is footage from a firefight or inside the tunnel where Baghdadi fled. 

In the Pentagon brief given by CENTCOM commander Gen. Kenneth McKenzie Wednesday he explained that there was a firefight on target in which several militants including four females were killed, The Delta Force operators also detained several men on target. 

11 children were present and were safeguarded, however before the operators arrived, Baghdadi grabbed two children and attempted to flee or to hide inside an underground tunnel. This was when a dog handler released his military working dog named Conan to subdue Baghdadi.

At that point, Baghdadi detonated the explosive vest he was wearing, killing the two children and injuring the K-9 Conan when part of the tunnel collapsed.

White House to welcome hero military dog, Conan

Initially, it was reported that Baghdadi had taken three children into the tunnel with him but during debriefs, it was corrected to two. Delta Force is known to conduct debriefs, called After Action Reviews (AARs) which last for many hours as operators go over every detail of the operation looking for ways to improve for future missions.

After the operators had cleared the compound of civilians and exfiltrated off target, the building was reduced from the air with precision-guided munitions. The Pentagon released before and after pictures, showing the destroyed compound.  However, Gen. McKenzie warned that, "ISIS is first and last an ideology so we're under no illusions that it is just going to go away because we killed Baghdadi."

Delta raid that killed Baghdadi named after American hostage Kayla Mueller

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Reach Jack Murphy: jack@connectingvets.com or @JackMurphyRGR.