Hero hound wounded trapping Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

Fresh details surface about the operation that led to the death of IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Donald Trump posts a picture of the hero dog on Twitter. Picture: AFP

US officials said on Tuesday that the body of Islamic State chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was buried at sea as fresh details surfaced about the US special forces operation that led to his death over the weekend.

The Pentagon is increasing US efforts to protect Syria’s oil fields, even as its troops are withdrawn from other parts of the country.

Syrian Kurds claimed to be a key source of the intelligence that led Americans to Baghdadi after years of tracking the jihadist leader behind a five-year reign of terror across much of Iraq and Syria.

An unnamed US military dog became a hero of the raid, incurring wounds as it chased Baghdadi down a dead-end tunnel underneath his northwestern Syria hideout before he blew himself and three children up with a suicide vest on Saturday night.

“His death marks a devastating blow to the remnants of (ISIS),” US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said.

He praised the nearly 100-strong force that rode helicopters to the desert compound in the Idlib region of Syria in a complex mission that required co-ordination with Russians, Kurds, Turks and dictator Bashar al-Assad’s regime to prevent US aircraft from being fired upon. “They executed the raid in all of its facets brilliantly,” Mr Esper said.

Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman General Mark Milley said no one was wounded in the operation, despite the US team taking fire when it arrived.

They took two men prisoner, and Baghdadi’s remains were removed after he killed himself.

General Milley said the US had disposed of Baghdadi’s remains “appropriately” and in line with the laws of armed conflict.

A Pentagon official said Baghdadi’s body was dumped into the sea at an unnamed location, similar to the 2011 sea burial of al-Qa’ida leader Osama bin Laden after he was killed in a US special forces raid in Pakistan.

A Kurdish official said an inside source they oversaw was responsible for leading US forces to Baghdadi’s hideout, helping to map out the interior of the compound, its staffing, as well as making it possible for them to identify Baghdadi.

“Since May 15 we have been working together with the CIA to track al-Baghdadi and monitor him closely,” said Polat Can, a senior adviser to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

The group had an informant who was able to infiltrate Baghdadi’s house. “Al-Baghdadi changed his places of residence very often,” Mr Can tweeted. “Our intelligence source was involved in sending co-ordinates, directing the airdrop, participating in and making the operation a success until the last minute.”

The source also “brought al-Baghdadi’s underwear to conduct a DNA test and make sure (100 per cent) that the person in question was al-Baghdadi himself”, he said.

Attention focused as well on the Belgian malinois dog that chased Baghdadi into a tunnel under the complex and cornered him before he detonated his suicide vest.

President Donald Trump tweeted a photograph of the dog on Tuesday. “We have declassified a picture of the wonderful dog (name not declassified) that did such a GREAT JOB in capturing and killing the Leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi!” he said.

General Milley said the military was protecting the dog’s identity. “The dog is still in theatre, returned to duty, with its handler,” he said.

US officials said Baghdadi’s death would not end the conflict in the Syria, but warned Washington could not be relied on to bring peace to the region. “Baghdadi’s death will not rid the world of terrorism or end the ongoing conflict in Syria,” Mr Esper said. “The security situation in Syria remains complex. Acting as a police force out to solve every dispute is not our mission.”

But he said the death of Baghdadi “will certainly send a message to those who would question America’s resolve and provide a warning to terrorists who think they can hide.”

AFP