U.S. details al-Baghdadi raid

The United States destroyed the compound where it killed Islamic State (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi so it wouldn’t become a shrine to him, according to U.S. General Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie. The Pentagon has released photos and videos of the overnight raid that killed al-Baghdadi last weekend. McKenzie added that soldiers buried the ISIS leader’s remains at sea within 24 hours of his death.

How has ISIS responded? In an audio statement released on Thursday, new ISIS spokesman Abu Hamza al-Qurayshi confirmed the deaths of al-Baghdadi and his close aid, former spokesman Abu al-Hassan al-Muhajir, who died in another operation in the Syrian city of Jarablus hours after al-Baghdadi’s death. Al-Qurayshi announced Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi would become the new ISIS leader and warned the United States to expect more attacks: “The new chosen one will make you forget the horror you have beholden … and make the achievements of the Baghdadi days taste sweet.”

Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift about al-Baghdadi’s last video speech.