SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Turkey says coordinated with US on raid believed to have targeted Baghdadi
Ankara, Oct 27 (AFP) Oct 27, 2019
Turkey on Sunday said there was "coordination" between Ankara and Washington before the operation which US media reports said targeted and killed Islamic State chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

"Prior to the US Operation in Idlib Province of Syria last night, information exchange and coordination between the military authorities of both countries took place," the Turkish defence ministry said in a tweet.

It did not give details.

The elusive chief of IS was believed to be dead after a US military raid in the Idlib region, US media reported earlier on Sunday.

The helicopters targeted a home and a car outside the village of Barisha, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, in the operation which killed nine people.

"To the best of my knowledge, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi arrived at this location 48 hours prior to the raid. We have been in close coordination with the relevant parties," a senior Turkish official told AFP.

"The Turkish military did have advance knowledge of last night's raid," the official said, while stating that "I can neither confirm nor deny that any intelligence was shared to facilitate last night's operation."

The official added: "We will continue to coordinate our actions on the ground."

US President Donald Trump is expected to make a "major statement" on Sunday at 9:00 am (1300 GMT), the White House said.

Some US media reports quoted government sources saying Baghdadi may have killed himself with a suicide vest as US special operations forces descended.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Maven stays silent after routine pass behind Mars
Sun boundary map tracks shifting Alfven surface over solar cycle
Mission Space to fly second space weather payload with Rogue Space

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Molecular contacts push tandem solar cells to 31.4 percent efficiency
Asymmetric side chain design boosts thick film organic solar cell efficiency
New analysis links lead cooled reactor corrosion to steel microstructure

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Autonomous DARPA project to expand satellite surveillance network by BAE Systems
Momentus joins US Space Force SHIELD contract vehicle
IAEA calls for repair work on Chernobyl sarcophagus

24/7 News Coverage
UAlbany Atmospheric Scientist Proposes Innovative Method to Reduce Aviation's Climate Impact
Digital twin successfully launched and deployed into space
Robots that spare warehouse workers the heavy lifting



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.