This Is How U.S. Special Forces IDed A ‘Mutilated’ Baghdadi So Quickly

Pfc. Kindo Go/U.S. Marine Corps

David Axe, Daily Beast: How U.S. Commandos IDed a ‘Mutilated’ Baghdadi So Quickly

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.

U.S. Special Operations Forces cornered Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a nighttime raid in Syria early Sunday morning before the Islamic State leader took his own life after triggering an explosive suicide vest he was wearing. Despite the carnage, the White House announced that American commandos quickly confirmed Baghdadi’s identity by combining facial-recognition technology and fast DNA analysis.

The near-instant forensic analysis appears to be a dramatic demonstration of new capabilities U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) developed in part to address ambiguities that resulted from the commando raid that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011.

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WNU editor: I would not be surprised if the best equipment was used on this raid.



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