# ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 27, 2019, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-is-dead/842553 "2019-10-27T16:43:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2019, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-is-dead/842553/21 "2019-10-27T23:24:29Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Any chance the 8 helicopters used were the same type of stealth Blackhawks used in the bin Laden raid? They had to fly in a region with various national military forces nearby, so stealth would be highly desirable. I’d be surprised. Those various national military forces don’t really have any desire to shoot down our helicopters. For example, we supposedly made a deconfliction notification to the Russians. Using stealthy helicopters after that would be counter-productive. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-is-dead/842553/22 "2019-10-28T01:27:03Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I’d be surprised. Those various national military forces don’t really have any desire to shoot down our helicopters. For example, we supposedly made a deconfliction notification to the Russians. Using stealthy helicopters after that would be counter-productive. Except the orange cretin bragged how an attempt to shoot down the aircraft was detected and suppressed during the mission. Wonder who else has the technology to detect and act quickly against fast low altitude aircraft. In that region, probably just about everyone. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-is-dead/842553/23 "2019-10-28T03:50:26Z")
How many “major” leaders of ISIS\Al-Qaeda\other terrorist groups have been killed already? And how does the movement still survive after 18 years of war with all these leaders being offed? This is suspiciously nearing [Vietcong body count territory.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War_body_count_controversy) ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-is-dead/842553/24 "2019-10-28T03:57:36Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > How many “major” leaders of ISIS\Al-Qaeda\other terrorist groups have been killed already? And how does the movement still survive after 18 years of war with all these leaders being offed? This is suspiciously nearing [Vietcong body count territory.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War_body_count_controversy) What’s the alternative - not kill the leaders? ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-is-dead/842553/25 "2019-10-28T06:39:39Z")
How about converting the followers to being adherents of the American Dream? Hearts, minds and/or wallets. That sort of stuff. 'Cause if MAGA just involves shooting everybody who has different beliefs, these guys have been following that cult for quite a while. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-is-dead/842553/26 "2019-10-28T07:41:47Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > How many “major” leaders of ISIS\Al-Qaeda\other terrorist groups have been killed already? And how does the movement still survive after 18 years of war with all these leaders being offed? This is suspiciously nearing [Vietcong body count territory.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War_body_count_controversy) Yeah really. Hell, I recall a fair number of reports of exploits of taking out the #2 “ISIS\Al-Qaeda\other terrorist groups” ( well, maybe not ISIS…too early ) head honcho guy until Bin Laden got smoked. There never seemed to be an end to the amount #2 bad guys for a while there. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-is-dead/842553/27 "2019-10-28T14:20:04Z")
> [@BrickBat](#): > > Yeah really. Hell, I recall a fair number of reports of exploits of taking out the #2 “ISIS\Al-Qaeda\other terrorist groups” ( well, maybe not ISIS…too early ) head honcho guy until Bin Laden got smoked. There never seemed to be an end to the amount #2 bad guys for a while there. This makes as little sense as if someone were to say, “How come Garfield, McKinley, Lincoln and Kennedy were all assassinated, and in each case, a vice president succeeded them as president? How come the presidency has never remained permanently vacant despite all 4 assassinations?” ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-is-dead/842553/28 "2019-10-28T18:19:19Z")
[Richard Engel](https://twitter.com/RichardEngel/status/1188867567349391361), _NBC News_: > [@](#): > > Gen. Mazlum tells @NBCNews Kurdish intelligence helped track down ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi by stealing his used underwear and a sample of his hair to test for DNA, and that US intelligence confirmed a match months ago. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-is-dead/842553/29 "2019-10-28T18:42:04Z")
US hasn’t confirmed this death. al-Muhajir was al-Baghdadi’s key aide and a spokesman for the group. It hasn’t been a good week for ISIS. [https://www.google.com/amp/s/abcnews.go.com/amp/International/wireStory/syrian-kurdish-forces-killed-close-al-baghdadi-aide-66579049](https://www.google.com/amp/s/abcnews.go.com/amp/International/wireStory/syrian-kurdish-forces-killed-close-al-baghdadi-aide-66579049) > [@](#): > > Later Sunday, Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the Syrian Kurdish-led forces, said his group’s intelligence cooperated with the U.S. military to target al-Muhajir in a village near Jarablus in northwestern Syria. It was part of ongoing operations to hunt down IS leaders, Abdi said. > > The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported al-Muhajir’s death, saying he was traveling in a convoy made up of an oil tanker and a sedan. The bodies of those killed were badly burned and it wasn’t immediately clear how al-Muhajir’s identity was confirmed. > [@](#): > > Little is known about al-Muhajir, who assumed the role of a spokesman after his predecessor was killed in a 2016 airstrike. Al-Muhajir is a nom-de-guerre that indicates he is a foreigner, and he also was believed to be a possible successor to al-Baghdadi. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-is-dead/842553/30 "2019-10-28T20:05:39Z")
> [@BrickBat](#): > > Yeah really. Hell, I recall a fair number of reports of exploits of taking out the #2 “ISIS\Al-Qaeda\other terrorist groups” ( well, maybe not ISIS…too early ) head honcho guy until Bin Laden got smoked. There never seemed to be an end to the amount #2 bad guys for a while there. Well, yeah. You kill #2, #3 gets promoted to take his space. You kill him, and the guy that used to be #4 takes his place. You kill everyone in Al Qaeda except two dudes, one of the is gong to be the #2 guy in Al Qaeda. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-is-dead/842553/31 "2019-10-28T20:21:59Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Well, yeah. You kill #2, #3 gets promoted to take his space. You kill him, and the guy that used to be #4 takes his place. You kill everyone in Al Qaeda except two dudes, one of the is gong to be the #2 guy in Al Qaeda. I think the implication is that after awhile, is killing the #2 that big of a deal, or are you just taking out the Al Qaeda Secretary of Health and Human Services. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-is-dead/842553/32 "2019-10-28T20:41:09Z")
A photo has been released of the [hero dog that captured and killed al-Baghdadi](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1188909031403900928). ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-is-dead/842553/33 "2019-10-28T21:09:55Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > I think the implication is that after awhile, is killing the #2 that big of a deal, or are you just taking out the Al Qaeda Secretary of Health and Human Services. That’s pretty much it. They loved making hay of taking out the #2 bad guy ( again, and again and again ) to buck up the public in the face of not being able to get the head honcho. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-is-dead/842553/34 "2019-10-28T21:30:44Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > A photo has been released of the [hero dog that captured and killed al-Baghdadi](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1188909031403900928). I thought dogs were all lying begging cheating cowards who cry and get fired. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2019, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-is-dead/842553/35 "2019-10-29T03:50:13Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > A photo has been released of the [hero dog that captured and killed al-Baghdadi](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1188909031403900928). Good dog! Belly rub!! ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2019, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-is-dead/842553/36 "2019-10-29T04:06:57Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I thought dogs were all lying begging cheating cowards who cry and get fired. They also [get kicked out of ABC News debates](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21943247&postcount=7249). It’s a dog’s life. While all the focus has been on the dramatic raid on al-Baghdadi’s compound that ended in his death, I think the more intriguing and audacious mission could be this one - I hope they make a movie about it. > [@](#): > > Gen. Mazlum tells @NBCNews Kurdish intelligence helped track down ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi by stealing his used underwear ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2019, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-is-dead/842553/37 "2019-10-29T04:15:06Z")
[Maggie Haberman](https://twitter.com/maggieNYT/status/1189023271221710849), _NYT_: > [@](#): > > Limbaugh tells his listeners that Trump’s withdrawal from Syria was all part of a ploy to throw people off the scent of the operation against Baghdadi. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-is-dead/842553.md?page=1)