The body of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was buried at sea as fresh details surfaced about the US special forces operation that led to his death over the weekend.
US officials afforded al-Baghdadi religious rites according to Islamic custom after he was killed in a US commando raid in Syria on Saturday, three officials have said.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, they did not disclose where the ritual was performed or how long it lasted. Two officials said they believed his remains were delivered to the sea from an aircraft.
US Army General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Pentagon news briefing that the US military disposed of al-Baghdadi's remains "appropriately, in accordance with our (standard operating procedures) and in accordance with the law of armed conflict."
Al-Baghdadi, an Iraqi jihadist who rose from obscurity to declare himself "caliph" of all Muslims as the leader of Islamic State, died by detonating a suicide vest after fleeing into a dead-end tunnel as elite US special forces closed in, according to officials in Washington.
Given the gruesome nature of al-Baghdadi's death, it was unlikely the US military followed as complete a process as it did after Navy SEALs killed al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden in a 2011 raid into Pakistan. Bin Laden was killed by a gunshot wound to the head, according to the US government.
Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi delivering a Friday sermon in the main mosque of Mosul, Iraq, on July 4, 2014. Source: ABACA
In the case of bin Laden, his body was transported to the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson. It was washed before being covered in a white sheet, and religious remarks translated into Arabic were read over bin Laden's corpse.
Bin Laden's burial at sea triggered mixed reactions, with a prominent imam saying the United States violated Islamic custom by not burying bin Laden on land, a move seen as a US attempt to prevent his resting place from becoming a shrine for extremist followers.
In the US, some questioned why the man responsible for the September 11, 2001, attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people was laid to rest with such respect.
General Milley did not enter into details about any of Baghdadi's last rites. Hr said that before the disposal of his remains, they had been transported to a secure facility to confirm his identity with forensic DNA testing.
"It's been done and is complete," General Milley said.
Raid undertaken 'brilliantly'
US Defense Secretary Mark Esper praised the nearly hundred-strong force that helicoptered to the rural compound in the Idlib region of Syria in a complex mission that required coordination with Russians, Kurds, Turks and President Bashar al-Assad regime to prevent US aircraft from being fired upon.
"They executed the raid in all of its facets brilliantly," Mr Esper said.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley said no one was injured in the operation, despite the US team taking fire when they arrived.
They took two men prisoner, and al-Baghdadi's remains were removed after he killed himself.
A handout photo made available by Maxar 27 October 2019 shows a satellite image taken 28 September 2019 of the reported residence of the Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Source: MAXAR
"Baghdadi's remains were then transported to a secure facility to confirm his identity with forensic DNA testing," Mr Milley said.
"The disposal of his remains has been done, is complete and was handled appropriately," he added, saying it was handled "in accordance with the law of armed conflict."
Another Pentagon official confirmed that al-Baghdadi's body was dumped into the sea at an unnamed location, similar to the 2011 sea burial of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden after he was killed in a US special forces raid in Pakistan.
Al-Baghdadi's underwear
A Kurdish official said an inside source they oversaw was responsible for leading US forces to Baghdadi's hideout, helping to map out the interior of the compound, its staffing, as well as making it possible for them to identify Baghdadi.
"Since 15 May, we have been working together with the CIA to track al-Baghdadi and monitor him closely," said Polat Can, a senior adviser to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
The group had an informant who was able to infiltrate Baghdadi's house.
"Al-Baghdadi changed his places of residence very often," he said on Twitter.
"Our intelligence source was involved in sending coordinates, directing the airdrop, participating in and making the operation a success until the last minute," Polat Can said.
The source also "brought al-Baghdadi's underwear to conduct a DNA test and make sure (100%) that the person in question was al-Baghdadi himself," he said.
'Beautiful' military dog
Attention focused as well on the unnamed dog, likely a Belgian Malinois, a breed favoured by the military, which chased Baghdadi into a tunnel under the complex and cornered him before he detonated his suicide vest.
President Donald Trump praised the dog on Sunday as "beautiful," but military officials said any information about it, including its name, was secret.
US President Donald Trump has shared an image of a dog that was wounded in the al-Baghdadi raid. Source: Twitter
"It's classified, we're protecting the dog's identity," said General Milley.
The dog had been "slightly wounded and is fully recovering," he said.
"The dog is still in theater, returned to duty, with its handler."
