US politics flare anew over ISIS raid

Perhaps reflective of the polarization in US politics, top Democrats were not informed by US President Donald Trump of the American military operation in which Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died.

Russia, however — the country consistently accused by Democrats of interfering in the 2016 US presidential election that led to the investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller — was notified.

The US special operations raid into northwest Syria aimed to capture al-Baghdadi, 48, if possible but kill him if necessary, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Sunday.

"We tried to call (al-Baghdadi) out and ask him to surrender himself. He refused and went down into a subterranean area, and in the process of trying to get him out, he detonated a suicide vest, we believe, and killed himself," Esper told CNN.

Trump said few US politicians were informed of the raid Saturday because he was concerned about leaks.

"We notified some, others are being notified now as I speak," Trump said. "We were going to notify them last night, but we decided not to do that because Washington leaks like nothing I've ever seen before. There is no country in the world that leaks like we do. Washington is a leaking machine. A leak could have caused the death of all of them."

Trump said North Carolina Senator Richard Burr, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, both Republicans, were told of the operation.

"I did not do that," Trump said when asked if he had informed Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Trump said he "wanted to make sure" the mission was kept "secret".

"I don't want to have men or women lost," he said. "I don't want to have people lost."

Esper said two US forces suffered minor injuries during the operation but have since returned to duty. He said Trump authorized the operation late last week.

"The president was taking options earlier (last) week. ... (He) chose the option that we thought gave us the highest probability of success," Esper said.

In a statement Sunday, Pelosi said that al-Baghdadi's death was "significant, but the death of this ISIS leader does not mean the death of ISIS".

"The House must be briefed on this raid, which the Russians but not top Congressional Leadership were notified of in advance, and on the administration's overall strategy in the region," Pelosi said. "Our military and allies deserve strong, smart and strategic leadership from Washington."

"We spoke to the Russians," Trump said. "We told them we are coming in. They said, 'Thank you for telling us,'" he said. "We told them we thought they would be happy. They hate ISIS as much as we do. You know what ISIS has done to Russia. They did not know the mission, but they knew we were going over an area where they had a lot of firepower."

Trump has been at odds with Pelosi, the Democrat who on Sept 24 kicked off the current impeachment inquiry into Trump over his discussion with the president of Ukraine about a probe of 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, and in particular his son, Hunter, about the latter's business dealings with a Ukrainian energy company.

"Does the president not trust the speaker of the House with sensitive national security information?" Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace asked Vice-President Mike Pence.

"I don't think that was the implication at all," Pence said. "I think from the time we got actionable intelligence, the president's total focus here was on a successful mission and the safety of American troops."

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, a California Democrat conducting the impeachment inquiry and a frequent target of Trump's criticism, said he was not told of the raid beforehand.

While Schiff praised the demise of a "ruthless killer", he said "in terms of notifying the Gang of Eight, that wasn't done".

In Washington, the "Gang of Eight" on intelligence matters includes Senate and House leaders from both parties and the chairman and ranking members of the House and Senate intelligence committees.

Democrats noted that former president Barack Obama did notify the Gang of Eight about the 2011 raid that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, the man blamed for the 2001 terrorist attacks in the US.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, told NBC News he wasn't notified.

"I look forward to receiving a briefing about this raid and the plan to deal with the escaped ISIS prisoners," Schumer said in a statement Sunday.

In a statement, Joe Biden said: "I congratulate our special forces, our intelligence community, and all our brave military professionals on delivering justice to the terrorist Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi."

Biden did not mention Trump and said the pressure on ISIS must be maintained.

"That task is particularly important as the chaos of the past few weeks in northern Syria has jeopardized years of hard work and sacrifice by American and Kurdish troops to evict ISIS from its strongholds in Syria," Biden said, referring to the Oct 13 announcement of Trump's withdrawal of a small number of troops from Syria.

"It's genuinely fascinating watching Democrats in real time struggle to figure out what to say about this," journalist Glenn Greenwald, who has castigated the media for its coverage of the Mueller investigation, wrote on Sunday. "They want to be patriotic and anti-ISIS, but also need a way to malign Trump without contradicting their gushing Obama praise over OBL: not an easy balancing act. Good luck!"

NBC's Saturday Night Live coincidentally aired a skit that Trump's recent withdrawal of US troops from northeast Syria created "jobs" for ISIS. The raid on al-Baghdadi unfolded around the same time as the skit was televised.

The news about al-Baghdadi was met with sarcasm in Iran and Russia.

"Not a big deal, You just killed your creature (accusing the United States of creating Islamic State)," Iran's Information Minister Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi tweeted.

"The killing of Baghdadi will not end Daesh (Islamic State) and its ideology ... which was created and flourished with the help of regional petrodollars," Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei tweeted.

"The Russian Ministry of Defence does not have reliable information on the operation by US servicemen ... on yet another 'elimination' of former IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi," Major-General Igor Konashenkov told the RIA news agency.

Konstantin Kosachyov, chairman of the foreign affairs committee in Russia's upper house of parliament's, told Interfax news agency: "Last respects have been paid to al-Baghdadi at least five times in the past."

Reuters contributed to this story.