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(CNN) - A spy from the Kurdish forces in Syria stole the underwear from Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in order to obtain a DNA sample belonging to the ISIS leader and thus help the US forces find their location, they have affirmed Kurdish officials.
Officers of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), led by the Kurds, described how they tracked the elusive al-Baghdadi from one end of the country to the other during the months leading up to the operation this weekend left. killed one of the world's most wanted terrorists.
“Through our own sources, we managed to confirm that al-Baghdadi had moved from the Al Dashisha area (in Deir Ezzor) to Idlib. Since last May 15, we have worked with the CIA to track al-Baghdadi and monitor him closely, ”Polat Can, a senior advisor to the Syrian Democratic Forces, posted on Twitter.
READ: Step by step: this was the dramatic military operation that killed the leader of ISIS al-Baghdadi
“One of our sources was able to reach the house where al-Baghdadi was hiding. He changed his place of residence very often. He was about to move to a new place in Jerablus. Our own source, which had been within reach of al-Baghdadi, brought al-Baghdadi's underwear to perform a DNA test and make sure (100%) that the person in question was al-Baghdadi himself, ”he added Dog.
Mustafa Bali, an SDF spokesman, confirmed Can's Twitter account and told CNN that an informant had obtained al-Baghdadi's underwear and a blood sample that was used to perform the DNA test, which he confirmed your identity before the US operation.
CNN could not independently confirm the Kurdish information, but its cooperation with the United States in preparation for the operation occurred while the Trump administration abandoned the Syrian Democratic Forces.
Al-Baghdadi "exploded" when he was cornered by US forces last Saturday, during a two-hour night operation at his complex in Idlib, located in northern Syria, President Trump announced Sunday.
A senior State Department official told reporters Monday that the Syrian Democratic Forces "played a key role" in the raid against al-Baghdadi and that the United States has been "in close contact" with the SDF commander, General Mazloum Abdi, "as for all aspects of what we are doing."
"He, his people and his intelligence sources played a key role in all this," the official said. “It is a very, very important role. No one should underestimate how key the SDFs were in all this, ”he added.
Earlier this week, Mazloum said there were five months of "joint intelligence cooperation on the ground" before the operation. The State Department official said Mazloum's statements about the raid were accurate.
Kino Gabriel, a spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces, told CNN that Trump's surprise decision to withdraw US troops from parts in northern Syria in early October delayed the operation to kill al-Baghdadi. Kurdish groups said they considered this US measure - which led to a Turkish offensive to expel Kurdish forces from the Syrian border area - as a "betrayal."
A source with knowledge of the issue explained to CNN that Trump's controversial order to withdraw troops from Syria had a major impact on the planning of the operation against al-Baghdadi, but did not necessarily accelerate its execution.
The official also said the raid would have been impossible without US troops in Syria and the association with the SDF.
MIRA: What is the future of ISIS after the death of al-Baghdadi?
The death of al-Baghdadi marks the end of a human hunt that lasted for years to find one of the world's most wanted terrorists and the man who declared the so-called Islamic caliphate in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
This is the most significant announcement about the death of a terrorist leader since then President Barack Obama revealed that al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden had been shot down by the U.S. Navy Special Operations Forces (Navy SEALS) during A dramatic night speech in May 2011.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Kurdish forces Intelligence Intelligence Kurds Syria Terrorism
