President Trump went into great detail describing what happened during the raid that led to the demise of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, but some current and former U.S. officials told NBC News they were wincing as he spoke.
Trump discussed the "K-9, as they call it, I call it a dog" that went after Baghdadi and was injured when he detonated a suicide vest, and revealed that "highly sensitive material and information" was seized from Baghdadi's compound. Not everything was accurate though, the officials said. For instance, Trump declared that Baghdadi was "crying and screaming" while being chased by U.S. forces, but officials told NBC News they didn't hear any such sounds.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
There are concerns that Trump, by revealing both highly classified and sensitive information, tipped off terrorist groups, giving them valuable insight into how the U.S. gathers intelligence. By saying that the U.S. now has documents outlining ISIS's plans for the future, it makes it harder for the military to carry out operations against militants, the officials said. Trump talked about how the helicopters landed at Baghdadi's compound, that the U.S. knew there were dead-end tunnels underground, and that there was a robot on hand to assist the special forces — tactical information that terrorist groups shouldn't know. Read more at NBC News.
-
Rosalía and the rise of nunmaniaUnder The Radar It may just be a ‘seasonal spike’ but Spain is ‘enthralled’ with all things nun
-
Magazine solutions - November 14, 2025Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - November 14, 2025
-
Israel jolted by ‘shocking’ settler violenceIN THE SPOTLIGHT A wave of brazen attacks on Palestinian communities in the West Bank has prompted a rare public outcry from Israeli officials
-
Catholic bishops rebuke Trump on immigrationSpeed Read ‘We feel compelled’ to ‘raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity,’ the bishops said
-
House releases Epstein emails referencing TrumpSpeed Read The emails suggest Trump knew more about Epstein’s sex trafficking of underage women than he has claimed
-
Newsom slams Trump’s climate denial at COP30speed read Trump, who has called climate change a ‘hoax,’ declined to send any officials to this week’s summit
-
UK, Colombia halt intel to US over boat attacksSpeed Read Both countries have suspended intelligence sharing with the US over the bombing of civilian boats suspected of drug smuggling
-
Trump pardons 2020 fake electors, other GOP alliesSpeed Read The president pardoned Rudy Giuliani and more who tried to overturn his 2020 election loss
-
Supreme Court to decide on mail-in ballot limitsSpeed Read The court will determine whether states can count mail-in ballots received after Election Day
-
Democrats split as Senate votes to end shutdownSpeed Read The proposed deal does not extend Affordable Care Act subsidies, the Democrats’ main demand
-
USDA orders states to ‘undo’ full SNAP paymentsSpeed Read The Trump administration is telling states not to pay full November food stamp benefits
