Published 14:35 IST, November 3rd 2019
Trump's narration of Baghdadi "whimpering & crying" finds no evidence
Donald Trump's graphic narration of ISIS chief Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi's last minutes of the US raid found no evidence has emerged to back his dramatic claims.
Donald Trump's graphic narration of ISIS chief Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi's last minutes of the US raid found no evidence has emerged to back his dramatic claims. While the US President recounted how Baghdadi died "whimpering and crying," the top US military officials didn't know what Trump was talking about.
Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, watched the US military raid with Donald Trump in the Situation Room. However, the military officer had no idea about the US President's source. "I don’t know what the source of that was," Milley said when asked about whimpering and crying. He offered that Trump might have talked directly to members of the unit, though it is inconceivable that they would not have briefed their commanders, too.
Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of US Central Command who oversaw the US raid in Syria on the so-called ISIS caliph was unable to confirm Trump's account. "He crawled into a hole with two small children and blew himself up while his people stayed on the grounds," McKenzie said of al-Baghdadi at a Pentagon briefing on Wednesday. "I’m not able to confirm anything else about his last seconds." Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who also was in the Situation Room, demurred when asked about Trump’s comments. "I don’t have those details," he told an international news channel.
Including the US military officers, even the White House officials have declined to comment on how Donald Trump got emotive details of al-Baghdadi's last moments' meltdown. Al-Baghdadi died during the raid in northwest Syria after he detonated a suicide vest, killing two of his children along with him in his compound tunnel.
Trump's dramatic account
Detailing about the operation, Donald Trump said that the world's most dangerous terrorist died "like a coward." He claimed that Baghdadi died in his Syrian compound, in a tunnel "whimpering, crying and screaming." While addressing the media, the US President said that he was there himself in the situation room watching the operation live and that it felt as if he was watching a movie.
Donald Trump said, "Last night, the United States brought the world’s number 1 terrorist leader to justice Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi. He died in his compound in a tunnel whimpering, crying and screaming. Last night was a great night for the United States and for the world. We will continue to pursue ISIS terrorists to their brutal end. ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi was a depraved and sick man. Now he's gone. He died a coward, running and crying. We had him (Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi) under surveillance for a couple of weeks. The operation against Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi involved eight helicopters and a large group of fighters."
Experts believe Donald Trump's exaggeration of Baghdadi-s death was an attempt to overshadow the US raid that killed Al Qaeda's Osama bin Laden under Obama's regime. “This is the biggest one, perhaps, that we’ve ever captured, because this is the one that built ISIS, and beyond, and was looking to rebuild it again,” the US President said.
Updated 15:16 IST, November 3rd 2019