ISIS Spy Who Betrayed Al-Baghdadi Likely To Receive "All Or Part" Of $25 Million Bounty
The Islamic State militant who betrayed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was motivated by revenge, according to NBC News.
"I think he was under a lot of pressure from his family," Gen. Mazloum Abdi - commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, said in a detailed account of how he spent months handling the spy inside the inner circle of the terrorist organization's now-dead leader.
"His relatives were subjected to harsh treatment by ISIS and he no longer believed in the future of ISIS. He wanted to take revenge on ISIS and al-Baghdadi himself," added Abdi.
"He was, you could say, a security official," the general added. "A personal security official for al-Baghdadi himself, in charge of al-Baghdadi’s movements."
Part of the informant's job, Abdi said, was “securing the places” where al-Baghdadi would later hide.This ISIS spy memorized the locations and layouts of al-Baghdadi’s safe houses and even stole samples of the world’s most wanted terrorist’s blood and clothing for DNA analysis, he said.None of that was easy.“Al-Baghdadi took his security precautions to the highest level,” Abdi said. “He never used high-tech communications at all. Any place he was in, was in a communications blackout, with exception of those who were directly responsible for his security, and that was a small group of people.” -NBC News
"His direct family, the children, his relatives, his siblings, they are formed a tight ring around him," said Abdi, adding that the ISIS leader only allowed a small group of outsiders to meet with him - the spy being one of them.
What's more, the spy is likely to receive some or all of the $25 million bounty for al-Baghdadi's head according to the report.
"We confirmed that (al-Baghdadi) had been moved to Idlib in April of this year," said Abdi - who wouldn't reveal when or how his forces first made contact with the ISIS informant. Over the last five months, however, the relationship 'deepend and expanded dramatically' according to the report.
Idlib was an unlikely place for the ISIS leader to hide. The province is largely controlled by other Islamist groups, including one linked to al Qaeda that is often called the Al-Nusra Front. The group has, at times, fought against ISIS. Abdi said al-Baghdadi was hiding among a pocket of supporters, in what was largely unfriendly territory.“The idea that al-Baghdadi was in Idlib was completely unexpected,” Abdi said. “It was a surprise to everyone.”Idlib is a large province with a varied terrain, including hills, canyons, olive groves, and several large towns and cities. Abdi said the spy’s meetings in Idlib were frequent but inconsistent. Kurdish intelligence officials said the spy could not approach the ISIS leader at will, but had to wait to be called for meetings. The face-to-face meetings — ostensibly to talk about security, movements, transportation and setting up future safe houses — would turn out to be critical. -NBC News
In order to determine where exactly al-Baghdadi was staying in Idlib province, the spy had to rely on his senses and memory according to Abdi. Bodyguards for the ISIS leader would pick him up in a car or taxi. Because of his trusted position, he was one of the few al-Baghdadi visitors who did not have to wear a blindfold on the journey. He was simply asked not to look out the car windows.
"When they approached the area, they would ask him to lower his seat so he can't look around," said Abdi. "They asked him to lie down, to lower the seat in the taxi."
Even with the seat down, the spy was able to glean enough of the local topography to tell roughly where he was.
Once inside al-Baghdadi’s hideouts — and there were several, in close proximity to each other — the spy was able to look around freely, the general said.He started memorizing the internal spaces and distinguishing structural features that could be seen from above, like a red water tank on a roof.Those details, Abdi said, were fed constantly back to the Kurds and, through them, to American intelligence agencies, enabling U.S. aerial surveillance to pinpoint al-Baghdadi’s final hideout. The descriptions of the compound helped American commandos plan their assault.“He provided information about the house itself, the shape of the house and things to do with the house, the specifications of the house,” Abdi said. -NBC News
"We learned that there was a tunnel in the house," said Abdi. "We learned how many people in the house, how many guards were in the house. We learned the closest al-Nusra checkpoints near the house. We learned all the security details of the house."
US intelligence required proof, however, that the informant wasn't lying. In order to prove himself, the spy stole a pair of al-Baghdadi's underwear and, later, a blood sample to compare with known samples of the ISIS leader's DNA from when he had been in US custody in Iraq.
Abdi said the spy stole underwear roughly three months ago from a house al-Baghdadi had previously used and abandoned. He wouldn’t say how the blood was collected, only that it was taken about a month ago. Abdi said both DNA tests matched, proving the spy’s bona fides.“After that, the CIA took this more seriously,” Abdi said. “They began to work hard and serious on the highest level.”
Meanwhile, President Trump's decision to suddenly pull US troops out of northern Syria and Turkey's subsequent invasion meant that Kurdish-led forces had to shift their focus on defending themselves.
At the same time, al-Baghdadi was preparing to move locations yet again.
"Al al-Baghdadi had prepared a new house for himself in a different place located in the area of Dera al-Fraat (Jarablus area)," said Abdi. "That house was ready. I assume that within 48 hours he would have left the house to the new house, and the new house was completely different and wasn't known."
And while the spy was at the compound when US Special Forces attacked, "He was there and he returned safely with the American forces," according to Abdi.
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