Pentagon official doesn't know where Trump got details about al-Baghdadi raid
A senior Pentagon official has said that he did not know where US President Donald Trump had heard bizarre details of the raid against Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, which Trump shared at a news conference.
Talking to reporters at the White House on Sunday, Trump claimed al-Baghdadi blew himself up, dying "like a dog," and "like a coward" after US forces trapped him inside a dead-end tunnel.
"Last night the United States brought the world's number one terrorist leader to justice," Trump said.
He said the Daesh chief detonated his suicide vest while “crying and whimping” during an overnight raid by American special ops forces in Syria.
He said the explosion was so strong that al-Bghdadi’s body was “mutilated” and the tunnel was destroyed but forensics teams were able to identify his remains.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley said that he assumed Trump had heard details of al-Baghdadi's demeanor during the raid.
“I know the president had planned to talk down to the unit and unit members,” Milley said. “But I don’t know what the source of that was. I assume it was talking directly to unit and unit members.”
Gen. Mark A. Milley on Trump's claim that ISIS leader was "whimpering and crying" before his death: "I don't know what the source of that was." pic.twitter.com/DVDuG7DdLY
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) October 28, 2019
Trump said on Sunday he watched the assassination operation alongside Vice President Mike Pence, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and a few others.
He marveled to about the quality of the video feed, saying it was "like a movie."
Trump also thanked Russia, Turkey, Iraq and Syria as well as Syrian Kurds for helping with the operation.
He claimed that Moscow “did not know the nature” of the mission, but was informed ahead that it was going to happen.
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