The United States is poring over video recorded during the Special Operations raid that killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and other information that “needs to be exploited properly for any follow-on missions that we may choose to do,” the Pentagon’s top general said Monday.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

The U.S. refers to “follow-on missions” after a raid in Syria Saturday night that killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, above. Al-Furqan media via AP, file

Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, declined to elaborate on what was collected, citing operational security. The United States also is holding two men who were captured in the raid, he said.

The collection of materials at the site and the taking of prisoners raise questions whether the U.S. military may be able to carry out other raids in the future based on what they learn. Elite Special Operations forces have done so for years.

Baghdadi detonated a suicide vest while running from U.S. forces, President Trump said Sunday as he announced the terrorist leader’s death. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Sunday that fewer than 100 U.S. troops were involved in the operation on the ground. Other U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the raid, said the raid was carried out by elite members of Delta Force and the 75th Ranger Regiment.

Milley, speaking alongside Esper during a Pentagon news conference Monday, said that he has “seen a lot” of video that was recorded during the raid, and that the government will declassify some of it “in the coming days” and release it to the public.

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President Trump on Monday tweeted this photo of the military working dog that was injured tracking down Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The photo was declassified by Trump. The dog’s name remains classified. White House via Associated Press

The general also said that Pentagon is not releasing the name of the military working dog that was wounded in the operation.

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“He was slightly wounded and fully recovering, but the dog is still in theater and returned to duty with its handlers,” Milley said. “We’re not going to release just yet photos or names of dogs or anything else. We’re protecting the dog’s identity.”

Two defense officials said the dog’s name is considered classified because releasing it would make it easier to determine who was involved in the raid. It could eventually be released if the dog is retired from military service, one official said.

The raid, launched from Iraq, was carried out in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province, about 4 miles from the Turkish border. It came as the U.S. military bolsters its troop numbers in eastern Deir al-Zour province.

Trump has said he wants to protect oil fields there from the Islamic State, but Esper acknowledged Monday that the presence of U.S. troops there also helps deny access to Russia and Syria.

That may draw new scrutiny from lawmakers who want to make sure U.S. military operations do not expand beyond the scope of congressional law. The long-standing Authorization for Use of Military Force used for U.S. counterterrorism operations allows the Pentagon to prevent “future acts of international terrorism” but does not cover countries that had no role in the September 2001 terrorist attacks.

Esper suggested that the arrangement is acceptable because the United States wants to make sure its partner in the fight against the Islamic State, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, has “access to resources in order to guard the prisons, in order to arm their own troops, in order to assist us with the defeat-ISIS mission.”

“That’s our mission,” he said. “To secure the oil fields.”


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