US military releases Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi raid video amid warnings of Islamic State retaliation

The US military has warned of “retribution attacks” from Islamic State as it released the first footage of the Syrian raid in which the terror group’s leader was killed.

Overnight the Pentagon released photographs and video of the raid and bombing of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s compound.

US forces, which launched from an undisclosed location inside Syria for the one-hour helicopter ride to al-Baghdadi’s lair, bombed the site again after soldiers completed their mission so that it would not stand as a shrine to the extremist.

His remains were buried at sea within 24 hours of his death inside an underground tunnel where he fled as special forces soldiers closed in on him.

“It looks pretty much like a parking lot with large potholes right now,” General Frank McKenzie, head of US Central Command, said.

Two children under the age of 12 died with al-Baghdadi, not the three originally reported, when the cowardly fugitive detonated his suicide vest. Gen McKenzie said other children were escorted from the site unharmed. Four women and two men wearing suicide vests who refused to surrender inside the compound were killed.

And although the raid was successful, Gen McKenzie said ISIS was still “dangerous” and the US was braced for retalitation.

“It will take them some time to re-establish someone to lead the organisation, and during that period of time their actions may be a little bit disjointed,” he said. “They will be dangerous. We suspect they will try some form of retribution attack, and we are ... prepared for that.”

The general also said the hero dog injured during the raid is a four-year veteran with US Special Operations Command that had been on approximately 50 combat missions.

The dog, a male whose name has not been released because the mission was classified, was injured when he came in contact with exposed live electrical cables in the tunnel after al-Baghdadi detonated his vest but has already returned to duty.

Meanwhile, it has been revealed an informant who guided US troops to the jihadi’s compund is in line for a huge reward. Washington had put a $35 million price on the head of al-Baghdadi and the mole, who was cultivated by the Syrian Kurds before being passed to the Americans, is likely to pick up some or all of the cash.

He stole a pair of al-Baghdadi’s underpants to prove his connection to the terror leader and then led a US special forces team to the Syrian hideout. The well-placed ISIS operative had helped the terror chief travel around Syria and oversaw construction of his secret base in the province of Idlib near the Turkish border.