In the shadow of the much-decried American pullout from Syria, members of the US armed services needed an uplifting moment. And they got one, as did the rest of the free world, when a daring raid led to the welcome death of the world’s most wanted man. AP: The tip, the raid, the reveal: The takedown of al-Baghdadi. “The helicopters flew low and fast into the night, ferrying US special forces to a compound where Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was hiding in Syria. Half a world away, President Donald Trump watched the raid in real time via a video link as troops blasted into the hideout and sent the most-wanted militant running the last steps of his life.”

+ “The raid that killed ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was launched by the same old-fashioned tool that led to Osama bin Laden: human intelligence.” Time: Here’s How U.S. Forces Finally Tracked Down and Killed al-Baghdadi.

+ “New technology includes a smaller and much faster DNA-reader that troops can haul into combat aboard their helicopters and use while the smoke is still clearing.” This is How US Commandos IDed a ‘Mutilated’ Baghdadi So Quickly.

+ A few hours after the Baghdadi operation, Abu Hassan al-Muhajir, the person likely next in line for the top spot was killed in a airstrike. (It’s probably not a good moment to be ISIS’ third in the line of succession…)

+ “American officials said the Kurds continued to provide information to the C.I.A. on Mr. al-Baghdadi’s location even after Mr. Trump’s decision to withdraw the American troops left the Syrian Kurds to confront a Turkish offensive alone.
The Syrian and Iraqi Kurds, one official said, provided more intelligence for the raid than any single country.” (From the world, to the Kurds: Thanks.) NYT: Trump’s Syria Troop Withdrawal Complicated Plans for al-Baghdadi Raid.

+ “The videos included heat signatures of those moving around — which analysts labeled friend or foe — at the al-Baghdadi compound near Idlib, Syria. But those surveillance feeds could not show what was happening in an underground tunnel, much less detect if Mr. al-Baghdadi was whimpering or crying.” NYT: Watching the Raid Was Like a Movie, the President Said. Except There Was No Live Audio.