In the dead of night on Saturday, US special forces entered a northern Syrian village to find their target: the world’s most wanted terrorist.
It started with eight helicopters flying low in the dark across hostile territory. The US had the location of Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, the man who had been eluding western and Middle East security services for years.
The raid did not truly begin in Syria, but Iraq. Baghdad created a crack team that focused solely on capturing senior ISIS leaders in the year prior to the raid. The Iraqi National Intelligence Service was able to locate Al Baghdadi’s hideout in Idlib, passing the information to the US.
The terrorist leader, 48, and several of his associates were not far from Barisha, a village less than 20 kilometres from the Turkish border, when US Army Delta Forces – supported by intelligence from the CIA, Iraq and the Syrian Kurds – arrived.
They flew in CH-47 Chinook helicopters from an airbase in western Iraq before reaching Al Baghdadi’s hideout, which was believed to be the home of a senior leader of Hurras Al Din, an Al Qaeda-linked faction in Idlib, Syria’s last rebel-held bastion.
At least 100 US special operations forces flew in, enough to outnumber those on the ground, arriving after 11pm local time.
The attack occurred about five kilometres from the Turkish frontier and close to one of the main border crossings.
Abu Ahmad told AFP he was a few dozen metres away when he saw an “attacking force”, with the sound of gunfire ringing out as warplanes swooped overhead.
Someone speaking in Arabic called on his neighbour, apparently named Abu Mohammad, to hand himself over, before the forces moved in.
US forces then fired from above as soldiers rappelled from the helicopters. They surrounded the premises, calling for those inside to surrender, and a firefight broke out.
“A large crew of brilliant fighters ran out of those helicopters and blew holes into the side of the building” to avoid booby traps in any doors, US President Donald Trump said.
Al Baghdadi refused the calls to hand himself over and fled into a subterranean area.
Mr Trump said that Al Baghdadi, instead of surrendering, entered a tunnel. A military dog went into the tunnel and was injured.
The US leader said Al Baghdadi dragged three children with him into the tunnel. US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said the operation was to meant to ensure that Al Baghdadi was captured alive, but that would not be the case. Backed into a corner, the terrorist leader detonated an explosive device.
At least eight people were killed, including Al Baghdadi, his bodyguard, his personal assistant and two wives, according to officials.
The US military destroyed the compound with at least one air strike to prevent it from being used as a shrine to Al Baghdadi, leaving nothing but a crater at the site and torn and bloodstained clothes. Under a clear blue sky yesterday morning, the house was completely flattened into a pile of grey rubble.
The area was eventually cordoned off by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, Syria’s former Al Qaeda affiliate, an extremist alliance that dominates most of Idlib province.
The US operation continued yesterday even though Al Baghdadi was dead.
The head of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazloum Abdi, said ISIS spokesman Abu Hassan Al Muhajir was targeted in an operation in the village of Ain Al Bayda, near Jarablus in northern Syria, describing it as a continuation of the operation to capture Al Baghdadi.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MIDWAY
Produced: Lionsgate Films, Shanghai Ryui Entertainment, Street Light Entertainment
Directed: Roland Emmerich
Cast: Ed Skrein, Woody Harrelson, Dennis Quaid, Aaron Eckhart, Luke Evans, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Darren Criss
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Newcastle United 0 Tottenham Hotspur 2
Tottenham (Alli 61'), Davies (70')
Red card Jonjo Shelvey (Newcastle)
MATCH INFO
What: Brazil v South Korea
When: Tonight, 5.30pm
Where: Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae
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One in nine do not have enough to eat
Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.
One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.
The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.
Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.
It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.
On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.
Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.
Pathaan
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Four-day collections of TOH
Day Indian Rs (Dh)
Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)
Friday 280.25m (14.12m)
Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)
Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)
Total 1.19bn (59.15m)
(Figures in millions, approximate)
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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