The Sunday Story: NPR challenges U.S. denial of civilian harm in raid on ISIS leader
The Sunday Story: NPR challenges U.S. denial of civilian harm in raid on ISIS leader
A photo taken on Oct. 27, 2019 shows the inside of the burned-out van that Barakat Ahmad Barakat and two other men were in when it was targeted by U.S. forces the night of the raid on ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's compound. OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
A photo taken on Oct. 27, 2019 shows the inside of the burned-out van that Barakat Ahmad Barakat and two other men were in when it was targeted by U.S. forces the night of the raid on ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's compound.
OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty ImagesToday on The Sunday Story, NPR's Daniel Estrin talks about his four-year investigation into the 2019 U.S. raid against ISIS founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The Pentagon says its deadly airstrikes did not hit civilians. But Estrin's investigation challenges that account. Now the Pentagon says it will review new information brought to light about the incident.
In 2019, U.S. special operations forces raided Baghdadi's Syrian hideout. The ISIS leader fled into a tunnel and blew himself up, along with two of his children.
Barakat Ahmad Barakat, seen here on June 24, 2023, was wounded in U.S. airstrikes during the 2019 raid on ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Omar Haj Kadour/AFP for NPR hide caption
Barakat Ahmad Barakat, seen here on June 24, 2023, was wounded in U.S. airstrikes during the 2019 raid on ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Omar Haj Kadour/AFP for NPRThat night, U.S. airstrikes also fired on three men driving a van near Baghdadi's compound. Two of them, Khaled Mustafa Qurmo, 27, and Khaled Abdel Majid Qurmo, 30, were killed. The third, Barakat Ahmad Barakat, now 39, was gravely wounded.
The U.S. maintains the men were "enemy combatants" who displayed "hostile intent" by approaching U.S. troops and ignoring warnings to stop. But Estrin independently tracked down relatives of the men who said they were not militants but civilians – agricultural laborers working in the seasonal olive harvest.
Barakat, the sole survivor, says the two other men in the van were driving him home from the olive press when they came under attack without warning. The airstrikes blew off his right hand and severely impaired his left hand, leaving him without work to support his wife and five children. He says that the U.S. never contacted him, and he seeks compensation.
Barakat seen here with his children, inside their house, on June 24th, 2023, in the Syrian village of Hatan. Omar Haj Kadour/AFP for NPR hide caption
Barakat seen here with his children, inside their house, on June 24th, 2023, in the Syrian village of Hatan.
Omar Haj Kadour/AFP for NPRNPR sued the Pentagon under the Freedom of Information Act to obtain documentation of the airstrikes. Three years after the U.S. operation, the Pentagon released a redacted copy of its own confidential 2020 report on the incident. NPR's review of the documents found flaws in the Pentagon's claims, including a failure to provide any evidence the men were combatants.
Fatima Qurmo holds a photo of her late son, Khaled Abdel Majid Qurmo, in the Syrian village of Turlaha on June 24, 2023. He and his cousin were killed by U.S. airstrikes during the 2019 raid targeting ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Omar Haj Kadour/AFP for NPR hide caption
Fatima Qurmo holds a photo of her late son, Khaled Abdel Majid Qurmo, in the Syrian village of Turlaha on June 24, 2023. He and his cousin were killed by U.S. airstrikes during the 2019 raid targeting ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Omar Haj Kadour/AFP for NPR
Ratiba Qurmo poses with a portrait of her late son, Khaled Mustafa Qurmo, and his children in the Syrian village of Turlaha on June 24, 2023. He and his cousin were killed by U.S. airstrikes during the 2019 raid on Baghdadi's compound. Omar Haj Kadour/AFP for NPR hide caption
Ratiba Qurmo poses with a portrait of her late son, Khaled Mustafa Qurmo, and his children in the Syrian village of Turlaha on June 24, 2023. He and his cousin were killed by U.S. airstrikes during the 2019 raid on Baghdadi's compound.
Omar Haj Kadour/AFP for NPRIn response to NPR's reporting, several Democratic members of Congress called on the Pentagon to reinvestigate the incident. U.S. Central Command is now soliciting additional information for a new review.
In a statement, it said, "CENTCOM is committed to thorough and accurate reviews of all allegations of civilian casualties and will consider all new first-hand information it receives, from NPR or any other source."
Editor's note: The following documents contain graphic images.
Pentagon documents relating to this incident that NPR obtained:
- Court filings
- First release of Pentagon documents
- Second release of Pentagon documents
- Third release of Pentagon documents
This episode was produced by Ariana Gharib Lee and edited by Jenny Schmidt. Our engineer was James Willetts. Additional music in this episode by Ramtin Arablouei and digital help from Andrew Mambo.
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