APRIL 23, 2019
LOCATION UNKNOWN
DAY
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is showing his face.
And it looks like a bloody death mask.
“The war of Islam and its followers against the crusaders and their followers is a long one,” he says to the camera. The terrorist leader is surfacing for the first time in five years. In an undated video released on the ISIS-run al-Furqan media network, al-Baghdadi admonishes his followers to fight on. The tips of his gray beard are dyed a bloody crimson. An AK-47 is at his side, locked and loaded. Heavyset, draped in robes and the type of beige, multipocketed vest worn by fishermen, the jihadist sits cross-legged atop ornate cushions, leaning back against a bare white wall. Al-Baghdadi is only forty-seven but looks a decade older. Three other men sit in the room, their faces concealed.*
For these specially chosen guests, the journey to enter this building and sit in the presence of their supreme leader began with the removal of wristwatches—ensuring that a hidden global positioning system (GPS) cannot be used. Cameras, cell phones, and any other electronics were also confiscated. A blindfold was then placed over their eyes. Each man was led into a van and driven for hours, never given a precise destination. Only upon arrival were the blindfolds removed. Then al-Baghdadi entered the room.
When the video session is complete, the three will remain sitting, supervised by armed guards. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi will depart first. The jihadis will be forced to wait until the ISIS leader clears the area.
These are extreme measures, but Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi follows strict, paranoid guidelines every day. He well knows he is a hunted man. A single mistake could be the end of him.
This is a notable change from the smug al-Baghdadi who addressed hundreds from the pulpit of a Mosul mosque in 2014. Two years later, in 2016—at the height of his power—the terrorist sultan controlled a swath of land stretching from northern Syria to central Iraq, near Baghdad. Millions of people were under his rule, and tens of thousands of soldiers genuflected before him.
Now all that is all gone. ISIS is back where it once was: a guerrilla insurgency waging jihad, one of many such groups in the Middle East. Yet al-Baghdadi fights on.
It is known that one of the jihadist’s sons, a teenager named Huthaifa al-Badri, was shot dead one month ago, while fighting for ISIS in Syria. But if that loss devastated al-Baghdadi, he does not show it now. The commander’s animated voice betrays no hint of mourning.
American intelligence officials will soon discover the reason why: the video’s release was delayed, to conceal the ISIS killer’s whereabouts.
The filming actually took place five months ago.
The bounty on al-Baghdadi’s head set by the American government is currently $25 million. His caliphate, as he admits in the video, is now just a brutal memory to the rest of the world. Raqqa, which acted as the ISIS capital city, is back under Syrian government control.
But al-Baghdadi makes it known that he is far from finished. ISIS cells are operating in Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. To prove this, an edited clip shows an ISIS attack in Sri Lanka, where militants clad in suicide vests packed with nails killed 250 Christians on Easter Sunday 2019.
As the camera records, al-Baghdadi talks to his three “guests.” He tells them he does not need the caliphate. He can strike anywhere in the world, at any time. The arrogant terrorist has avoided assassination for many years and believes he will never be found. He trusts no one and is comfortable with the elaborate security measures necessary to command his terrorist forces. Al-Baghdadi is confident that one day ISIS will triumph, and history will record him as a true world leader, no different than the Muslim clerics who run Iran. When that day comes, he will come out of hiding and be vindicated for all these years of hardship.
“Our battle today is a war of attrition to harm the enemy, and they should know that jihad will continue until doomsday,” Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi says confidently, switching his gaze to the camera but not making eye contact with the lens.
Al-Baghdadi thinks waiting five months to release the video will be enough to cover his tracks. He is wrong. US coalition troops in Iraq and Syria are closing in.
And, after years of frustration, they finally know where the ISIS leader lives.
Half a world away, in a secure facility at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota, American hunters track al-Baghdadi at thirty thousand feet over Syria. Two-person teams of air force drone pilots sit in air-conditioned cockpits that never leave the ground—video screens, joysticks, headsets, padded armchairs. These military people are flying remote-controlled unmanned aircraft over Syria from this remote location in the United States. They are young men and women in flight suits who were just children on 9/11. Though these pilots live at home, buy groceries at the base commissary, drive to work each day, and otherwise live a normal life, they go to war in a very high-tech way the instant they settle into their cockpit and speak into their communications devices.
Ellsworth is just one of the more than two dozen US military installations around the world that surveil ISIS with Predator and Reaper drones. Years ago, the base’s primary arsenal was composed of B-52 Stratofortress bombers, always on standby to repel any global threat.
But today’s generation of terrorists is not so easily found—or defeated—as conventional armies of yore. The brutal jihadist killers operate in a shadow world and must be observed by the most clandestine method possible. The deafening roar of a B-52 is replaced in the terror war by the almost total silence of a hovering drone. Known ISIS hideouts are watched from high in the sky without a hint that they are being observed. Recognizing that their nations must also prepare to fight terror attacks at home and abroad, coalition members France, Britain, Australia, and Spain are now training their own flight crews at a similar US base in Nevada, ready to join the fight.
The work is primarily tedious—but once in a while exciting. During a typical eight-hour shift, a drone pilot circles over a target continuously, studying the same vehicles and encampments over and over. The pilots can launch precision Hellfire rounds on order—killing killers who pose a threat. Some of the officers who have also flown combat missions in F-16 fighter jets say the stress level is about the same.
Most of the time, drone pilots simply wait. One jihadi usually leads them to another. ISIS leadership has learned that telephones, computers, and other electronic communications can reveal locations. Thus, jihadis prefer to speak with their fellow terrorists in person. So it is better to follow the ISIS thugs as they travel the back roads of Iraq and Syria. Drones tail them to every meeting, photographing the faces in attendance and recording the location.
This includes Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The confessions of captured terrorist Ismael al-Ethawi and the four other top ISIS leaders have yielded several potential places where al-Baghdadi might be hiding. Drones fly above each of these locations for months, the faraway pilots scrutinizing every vehicle entering and exiting the potential lair.
Yet for all their scrutiny, the drone pilots have yet to catch even a momentary glimpse of al-Baghdadi. There is a good chance he might not even be in the compound.
What the American hunters do see is a facility surrounded by twelve-foot-tall dun-colored walls, fruit orchards, a dirt driveway snaking off the paved main highway, and two large buildings with flat roofs, flanked by what appears to be a red water tank. Strangely, there also appears to be an image looking very much like a tennis court outside, though if it is such a thing it goes unused, as the compound’s occupants rarely venture outdoors.
The town of Barisha, in Syria, is in rugged, hilly country, popular with smugglers due to its location ten miles from the Turkish border. In another time, this was a land of prosperity. Farmers grew olives in large orchards and pressed them for the oil. Wine from the many local vineyards was widely renowned. Stone churches and homes showed this land as a place of prosperity. But that was during the Byzantine era, some 1500 years ago. The vineyards are now gone. The olive groves remain, though there is little interest in pressing the crop anymore. The Christian churches are rubble. The land around Barisha is sparsely populated, with some residents even living in caves.
The drones see all that, but they cannot see inside the buildings. Therefore, they do not know about deadly obstacles, hiding places, the number of women and children, the location of armed guards.
Despite that, a plan is slowly taking shape to attack al-Baghdadi’s possible hideout. But, obviously, it is imperative to confirm he is actually there.
Two bits of luck will soon reveal the truth.
For all his secrecy, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has a crucial weakness: family.
The terrorist is thought to have four wives and several children. Family members do not wear blindfolds or discard their cell phones when they rendezvous with the ISIS leader. Thus, those women suspected of attending to al-Baghdadi are easily traced. The CIA begins to focus on one woman in particular, who frequently travels outside the compound with a courier serving as her bodyguard.
Soon, intelligence agents from Iraq and Kurdish Turkey follow her. Days later, she is placed under arrest.*
This is the first stroke of luck.
The subsequent interrogation is like any other, starting with endless questioning, sleep deprivation, and a restricted diet. Torture is not used at first, and in the case of this unnamed wife, it is not known whether it becomes necessary. All of that is classified. But it is understood that both the wife and courier begin to talk.
The most important question the CIA interrogators want answered—does al-Baghdadi live in the hilltop Barisha compound?
Yes.
The wife’s confession proves that almost everything Ismael al-Ethawi told interrogators is correct. The main entry doors are booby-trapped to explode when a hostile force attacks. A network of escape tunnels allows the ISIS leader multiple paths to freedom.
Drone surveillance of the fortress is immediately redoubled. Several unmanned aircraft fly simultaneously at different altitudes and send back a comprehensive picture of the compound. The comings and goings in the mountaintop area are intensely scrutinized, particularly the movement of cars and motorcycles.
Al-Ethawi’s statement that al-Baghdadi conceals himself inside minivans carrying loads of vegetables becomes crucial, as such vehicles are regularly seen entering and leaving the compound. The United States requests the assistance of Iraqi and Kurdish intelligence, asking them to provide ground spies who can pinpoint al-Baghdadi’s movements whenever he leaves.
Then comes the second piece of luck.
The man is an Arab. His true identity will never be revealed, for if that ever happened he would be a dead man. He has decided to betray al-Baghdadi because a loved one has been killed by ISIS, and the Arab wants revenge.
But just as important, he wants the $25 million reward for al-Baghdadi’s capture or death.
The man contacts the CIA through the shadowy world of the global intelligence community. The would-be informant claims al-Baghdadi trusts him and holds him in the highest regard. The anonymous informer wishes to help capture the ISIS leader and is even willing to personally take part in the raid, leading US soldiers through the inside rooms and pointing out tunnel locations. To prove his knowledge, the Arab informs American intelligence that the compound has internet access, paid for in cash to the local service provider at a rate of $8 per month. Al-Baghdadi’s personal username is “mhrab.” His children play online video games.
But the CIA wants more. They think this may be a setup. So, the informant is asked to do something very unusual: provide a pair of al-Baghdadi’s underwear.
He returns with an unwashed, white, baggy garment that extends from the waist to below the knee.
That, however, is still not enough for the CIA.
Federal agents demand a sample of al-Baghdadi’s blood.
Amazingly, the informant comes back with a second stolen item, this time a used bandage.
Both items match DNA known to have come from Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.*
So it is that, in summer of 2019, the CIA and the American military begin planning a mission to capture the ISIS leader. It will be the most significant raid on a terrorist since Osama bin Laden’s demise eight years before. The comparison is apt—no jihadist since bin Laden has been as successful at remaining hidden while also being in command of his terrorist outfit.
Mission planning is divided: Delta Force, Rangers, and Night Stalkers rehearse the combat aspect over and over, even as the intelligence community acquires as much detail as possible through informants, electronic eavesdropping, signal intelligence, and visual information from drones and satellites. It is the military action that will forever be given the spotlight, but intelligence analysis is no less necessary right now. Intelligence personnel follow a proven plan of attack known as “Find, Fix, Finish” to guide their investigations. Now, having found and fixed their sights on al-Baghdadi, they seek to finish him.*
Beginning in July, al-Baghdadi appears to take up permanent residence inside the compound. As training for the raid ramps up, it becomes clear that the house outside Barisha will almost surely be the site of the attack. But there are severe problems with this mission.
Al-Baghdadi has chosen his hiding place with a masterful tactical eye. There is currently no place on earth so devoted to the terrorist way of life as the land around Barisha. Terrorism has become so ingrained into the region’s culture that many young males see this as their only future. Northern Syria is primarily controlled by an al-Qaeda cell made up of rogue ISIS fighters trying to reassemble for another war.
In addition, conventional troops of the of Syrian and Russian armies stake their own claim to the rugged terrain, living in large military bases and conducting patrols. Their presence is less of a problem in the early days of mission planning because one thousand US troops are also occupying northern Syria. But, just a few weeks before the al-Baghdadi mission is set to launch, President Trump makes a surprise decision to remove those American forces. Officially, there is not even one single American in the region surrounding Barisha.
This complicates everything. No longer can US forces approach on the ground.
And this presents another problem: Russian MiG fighter jets routinely patrol the airspace on behalf of Syria, eager to shoot down any threats appearing on radar. There is an unwritten agreement between the United States and Russia that drone flights will go unchallenged, but drones are not an invasion force. Thus, the likelihood of United States helicopters bristling with missiles and loaded with elite soldiers flying to the target undetected is nonexistent.
Delta Force would be quickly shot from the sky.
This leaves no doubt: the soldiers must launch from a location outside of Syria, using surprise to insert and exfiltrate by helicopter.
Just like with bin Laden.
Time is running out.
Anbar province, in Iraq, has been chosen as ground zero for the raid. Gravel, rock, heat. Not a tree in sight. ISIS knows it well, having captured a town named, coincidentally, al-Baghdadi at the height of the caliphate. During that battle, ISIS laid siege to American and Iraqi troops who were based nearby. Constant mortar fire was leveled by the terrorists, but it caused little damage. The air base in Anbar is now considered safe enough that President Trump landed here last Christmas to greet troops and have his picture taken with SEAL Team 5.
Another plan takes shape. The warriors meet daily for physical training under the hot desert sun and a comprehensive study of their target based on drone and satellite footage. Everything about the raid is top secret, but the soldiers sense something big is about to happen. The operators taking part will not be Navy SEALs but Army Rangers and Delta Force.
This causes tension. There is an interservice rivalry among elite Special Forces. Many army officials believe that the SEALs involved in the bin Laden raid eight years ago were eager to cash in on their experiences, enjoying a brief moment of fame by writing books and giving talks about the mission. Even fellow Navy SEALs and members of the US intelligence community feel the same. Delta Force vows there will be no such chatter about the hunt for al-Baghdadi.
Also, unlike the bin Laden operation, which limited manpower to a dozen SEALs on the ground, the hunt for al-Baghdadi will be a massive attack, utilizing dozens of Special Forces personnel, helicopters, a fleet of drones, and jet fighters providing air cover. And because the fighting will likely take place indoors, military dogs will also be utilized.
Fierce heat in the remote desert location makes each day of preparation a time of great rigor. The elaborate synchronization of so many aircraft and commandos grows more and more fine-tuned with every passing day. By September, as summer temperatures spike even higher, the teams are ready. Now all they need is the order to launch. The warriors gather to select a code name for their upcoming mission.
The decision is unanimous.
But, for now, top secret.
Summer is gone.
And still no order to attack. It’s been months. The Arab spy within the ISIS compound reports that al-Baghdadi is preparing to relocate north to a new house in the town of Jarabulus. Luckily, the ISIS leader hasn’t moved yet, but the Special Forces teams are getting restless. He could run any day, meaning this one chance to get him will evaporate.
The frustration abates as the decision is made to train at a new site. It’s not exactly authorization to go into battle, but it feels as though the teams are getting closer.
Men, aircraft, dogs, and munitions are moved to Erbil Air Base in Iraq for training. That facility is only a seventy-minute flight to al-Baghdadi’s compound. Despite the threat of Russian fighter jets, aerial insertion is the only option. There is no other choice than this extremely risky plan of attack. The Black Hawk and CH-47 helicopters must fly at top speed through hostile Syrian airspace. They are specially equipped to refuel in the air. By hugging the ground, there is hope they can defeat Russian radar and remain unseen. This is the only way in—and the only way out. Technically, it is an act of war to enter a foreign country without permission.
The pilots are concerned about legalities. But they’re even more worried about being blown out of the sky by a Russian Vympel R-73 missile.
As the aviators study flight maps, commandos rehearse the insertion again and again in complete secrecy. The Black Hawks will land outside the compound, the bin Laden raid memorably having shown that attempting to land inside can lead to a “vortex ring state” crash.
Upon touching down, the commandos will blow up the high walls rather than attempt entry through the booby-trapped front door. There will be women and children inside, and likely a small number of armed ISIS bodyguards.
The CIA informant will also be inside. Throughout the planning, he has visited with al-Baghdadi a number of times and is trusted enough that he is not blindfolded when led into the compound. He has already provided key details about the interior layout. When the attack comes, he will make himself known and guide the soldiers through the building, maybe taking them directly to al-Baghdadi. Should the mission be a success, the Arab and his family will be secretly relocated to some other part of the world, there to spend the $25 million bounty.
Meanwhile, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi waits, apparently thinking he is completely safe.
Go time.
President Trump grants permission to attack. Pilots and soldiers immediately assemble and load into helicopters. Now it’s for real. Finally, they will have their date with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Then, crushing disappointment: the order is soon rescinded, no reason given. Deflated, the teams return to their air-conditioned quarters. Little do they know that high-level negotiations are currently taking place among Washington, Moscow, and the Syrian government. It appears these talks will allow the attack to proceed without any interference from Russian aircraft. But there is a communication breakdown, thus the last-minute decision to scrub.*
One week later, the order comes again.
However, more complications arise, and the teams are again told to stand down. There is grumbling and a frustrating sense that this mission might never happen. Some of the men remember the attempt to rescue Kayla Mueller five years ago, when US forces arrived just one day after she had been moved to a new location. No one wants that to happen with al-Baghdadi.
And then, on October 26, the green light. The elite commandos and pilots slip into the helicopters, rotors power up, and the dangerous seventy-minute ride over Syria begins. The time is just before midnight. Eight helicopters filled with sixty-five commando warriors lift into the night.
Operation Kayla Mueller, as the warriors have named the mission, is about to become real.