Pentagon: US detained two men during al-Baghdadi raid

Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley said on Monday that the US detained two men during the raid on ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in northwestern Syria.

“There were two adult males taken…alive. They are in our custody and they are in a secure facility,” Milley said in a press conference at the Pentagon.

He also said that the US was not prepared to release photos or videos related to the raid on al-Baghdadi that resulted in his death, as the materials were in the process of being declassified.

“We do have videos, photos. We are not prepared at the time to release those, they are going through a declassification process,” said Milley.

Milley said that the disposal of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s remains has been completed.

“Bagdadi’s remains were transported to a secure facility to confirm his identity with forensic DNA testing and the disposal of his remains has been done and is complete and was handled appropriately,” said Milley.

US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday in a televised address that al-Baghdadi died in a US operation.

“Last night, the United States brought the world’s number one terrorist leader to justice. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead,” said Trump.

Trump gave a detailed description of the US raid on al-Baghdadi’s compound, which he said he watched live last night. Al-Baghdadi died by detonating a suicide vest, having run into a “dead-end tunnel” being pursued by US troops.