Thread: Most salient information from the White House and Pentagon briefings on yesterday's US raid that killed Islamic State leader Hajji Abdullah (Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi) in #Idlib.
The operation was in the works for months.
US confirmed by early December that the IS leader was living in the compound; the exact layout of the compound; and exactly who was where.
The reason a raid was chosen vs. an airstrike was an innocent family on the first floor.
So good was the US intelligence that they knew that Hajji Abdullah detonating his suicide vest on the third floor would not bring down the building, hence the decision to risk the operation despite knowing he would do this.
Pentagon: As soon as the US surrounded the building and started calling for the women and children to come out, Hajji Abdullah detonated the bomb, basically right as the operation began.
Pentagon:
▶️Hajji Abdullah killed his wife and 2 children on 3rd floor
▶️US safely evacuated innocent family on 1st floor (6 people)
▶️Hajji Abdullah's deputy & wife on 2nd floor opened fire on US forces and were killed with 1 child; 4 of their children then safely evacuated
US won't identify Hajji Abdullah's lieutenant living on the second floor, but he ran the courier network Hajji Abdullah used to run the global Islamic State – basically Ibrahim Saeed Ahmed – so clearly someone very senior.
Pentagon:
▶️Hajji Abdullah identified by fingerprints/DNA
▶️The battle, including helicopters, was actually towards the end of the op, when a group of hostiles approached the area. 2 killed, the rest fled.
▶️DOD won't specify if capture was ever in the cards
Pentagon: "From soup to nuts, the original plan was to have them there for 2 hours", primarily to save the civilians.
▶️2 hours necessary for civilian evac effort, operation, gathering intelligence material in the house, identify the bodies, and safely evac
Pentagon:
▶️Hajji Abdullah's body was left at the site
▶️The SOF unit conducted DOZENS of rehearsals of the operation over the last few months
Pentagon:
▶️One of the helicopters suffered a drive train issue immediately upon infil, was flown to an alternative location, and ultimately blown up by the US after they decided it couldn't be salvaged.
Pentagon says it doesn't have perfect knowledge of everyone killed in the raid and will see if US directly caused any civilian casualties
▶️"At least" 1 child killed on 2nd floor where Hajji Abdullah's deputy + wife opened fire on US forces (4 other kids saved after the battle)
The US is adamant that all civilian casualties were caused by Hajji Abdullah & deputy:
"Some of the numbers out there don’t align with our information, but I can’t say specifically how many people Hajji Abdullah had with him when he decided to murder them."
Senior administration official on the role of the SDF/PKK:
"The SDF is essential. We cannot do any of this without them. So, just critical. I don’t want to get into any details, but critical, vital enablers for operations like this."
DOD can't confirm if it was a suicide vest and/or other explosive (given standard IS operating procedure, it was a suicide vest, though other areas of the house may also have been booby-trapped 🤷♂️)
Pentagon: "We cannot say at this time exactly what this device was."
CENTCOM's Gen. McKenzie says the explosion "was more massive than would be expected from a suicide vest".
.@jonathanchait: "They are treating apologias for Hamas as a factually or logically flawed application of left-wing ideals. I believe...that Hamas defenders are applying their own principles correctly. The problem is the principles themselves." nymag.com/intelligencer/…
@jonathanchait: "The illiberal left believes treating everybody equally...merely serves to maintain existing structures of power. It follows...that the legitimacy of a tactic can only be assessed with reference to whether it is being used by the oppressor or the oppressed."
@jonathanchait: '“Decolonization”...has a model of the world in which conflicts are analyzed as a struggle pitting settler-colonist-Europeans, who are evil, against native/indigenous/BIPOC people...[It] does not leave room to judge the morality of any methods.'
"Wagner...has also released several horrifying snuff films and images of executions, mutilations and beheadings that would make Islamic State blush." archive.md/2023.06.12-060…
"RIM and Wagner are the Russian equivalent of...Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and Hezbollah. The former two are...well-known terrorist fronts created by [Pakistan]...while the latter is essentially the Lebanese branch of Iran’s [IRGC]." aijac.org.au/op-ed/barbaric…
'Australia is not bound by whatever considerations are underlying the [US] reluctance. Home Affairs should act quickly on...Paterson’s letter and demonstrate that Australia sees these NRVE groups for what they are...“horrible terrorist organisations”.'
14th report of the UN Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team on ISKP: "At least five new [ISKP training camps] built in 2022. The group has created a network of sleeper cells in the centre of the country...elsewhere [ISKP] operate in cells of 5 to 15 people."
"There had also been a targeted campaign to recruit TTP members, Uighurs and ethnic Tajik and Uzbek minorities, which prompted reports of [IMU] units secretly pledging allegiance [IS] while remaining under the Taliban umbrella and biding their time."
"Attacks against high-profile Taliban figures raised [ISKP] morale, prevented defections and boosted recruitment, including from within the Taliban’s ranks."
A fascinating account in @newlinesmag about Iran's all-expenses-paid, Orwellian recruitment centres in Qom masquerading as religious institutions, where it's struggle sessions, lies, spies, antisemitism, conspiracy, and Khomeini worship 24/7. newlinesmag.com/first-person/h…
"The biggest taboo of all was Khamenei...We would never, ever speak about him, his role in Iran or the Iranian regime. It was really strange to see his Orwellian portrait everywhere without being able to speak about him."
At least 100 incredibly cheap ($1000-$5000) Australian drones made of cardboard+rubber bands are being delivered to Ukraine every month.
Designed to be totally expendable, some have completed 60 flights and drop bombs, deliver supplies, or conduct recon. theaustralian.com.au/nation/cheap-a…
The Precision Payload Delivery System drones, designed by @SYPAQ_Official, are constructed from thick, wax-coated cardboard and heavy-duty rubber bands that secure the wings.
@SYPAQ_Official chief engineer Ross Osborne: “The flat pack is a key feature there. We can stack these up on a pallet. We also developed modular avionics and propulsion sets that can hopefully achieve a bit of reuse.”