Airport informants, overhead drones: How the U.S. killed Soleimani
The operation demonstrated how adept the U.S. has become at hunting and killing its enemies, experts say.
By Ken Dilanian and Courtney Kube
Jan. 10, 2020
The Americans were waiting for him.
Armed with a tip from informants at the airport in the Syrian capital of Damascus, the CIA knew exactly when a jet carrying Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani took off en route to Baghdad. Intelligence from Israel helped confirm the details.
Once the Cham Wings Airlines Airbus A320 landed, American spies at Iraq’s main airport, which houses U.S. military personnel, confirmed its exact whereabouts.
Three American drones moved into position overhead, with no fear of challenge in an Iraqi airspace completely dominated by the U.S. military. Each was armed with four Hellfire missiles.
This account of how the United States took out Soleimani is based on interviews with two people directly familiar with the details of the operation, as well as other American officials who were briefed on it.
On large screens, various U.S. officials watched as an Iraqi militia leader walked up a set of stairs to greet the leader of Iran’s Quds Force as he emerged from the airplane.
It was past 1 in the morning, so the black and white infrared imagery wasn’t very clear. No faces could be seen.
The men on the ground had no idea that their lives were now to be measured in minutes.
CIA Director Gina Haspel was observing from agency headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper was watching from another location. Another feed was on view in the White House, but President Donald Trump was in Florida at the time.
Read more at https://www.nbcnews.com/news/mideast
