Death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

Death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi; (Operation Kayla Mueller)
	Part of the Syrian civil war, the American-led intervention in the Syrian civil war (Operation Inherent Resolve), the international military intervention against the Islamic State, and the Global War on Terrorism
	; Baghdadi's compound, before and after the U.S. special operations raid, 26–27 October 2019
Date	26–27 October 2019; (1 day)
Location	300 meters outside Barisha, Harem District, Idlib Governorate, Syria36°09′57″N 36°37′39″E / 36.1658°N 36.6274°E
Result	American victory Successful raid on Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's compound; Death of al-Baghdadi; Seizure of materials and captives from compound; compound later destroyed by U.S. fighter jets and drones;
Belligerents
United States	ISIS
Commanders and leaders
Donald Trump; Mark Esper; Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr.; Mark A. Milley	Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi †;
Units involved
Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) A squadron, 1st SFOD-D (Delta Force); 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne); 75th Ranger Regiment	Islamic State military
Strength
~100 JSOC operators; 8 helicopters; Unknown number of military working dogs and robots	Unknown
Casualties and losses
2 soldiers and 1 dog injured	16–21 killed 6 ISIS members including Baghdadi; 10–15 non-ISIS militants; 2 militants captured
	2 children died after Baghdadi detonated his vest; 2 civilians killed and one injured by U.S. airstrikes
	Barisha class=notpageimage\| Location of Barisha in Syria

On 26–27 October 2019, the United States conducted a military operation code named Operation Kayla Mueller that resulted in the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the then-leader and self-proclaimed caliph of the ISIS terrorist organization. The operation took place in the outskirts of Barisha, Idlib Governorate, Syria. According to General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) commander who oversaw the operation, Baghdadi killed himself along with two children when he detonated a suicide belt while fleeing from U.S. forces during the raid.^[4]

The U.S. operation was named for Kayla Mueller, an American aid worker who had been captured by and died in the custody of the ISIS.

^ Cite error: The named reference Guardian was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "Trump confirms ISIS leader Baghdadi is dead after US raid in Syria — 'He died like a coward'". CNBC. October 27, 2019. Archived from the original on October 31, 2019. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
^ Zeke Miller; Deb Riechmann; Robert Burns (October 28, 2019). "Trump says U.S. forces cornered ISIS leader in dead-end tunnel". Star-Tribune. Associated Press. Archived from the original on October 29, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c Cite error: The named reference npr2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi death: US military says two men detained". BBC. October 28, 2019. Archived from the original on October 31, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
^ "Trump says 3 children killed, 2 women died during operation". CNN. October 27, 2019.
^ "Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi: US releases first images of raid on compound". BBC News. October 31, 2019. Archived from the original on October 31, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
^ Estrin, Daniel (July 21, 2023). "Pentagon files reveal flaws in U.S. claims about Syrian casualties in Baghdadi raid". NPR. Archived from the original on October 9, 2023. Retrieved October 28, 2023.