US Compiles ‘Hit List’ of ISIS Suspects it Intends to Kill

Unsurprisingly, Baghdadi Tops the List

A new report from CNN reveals that the Obama Administration has created a “hit list” of suspected ISIS members it intends to kill. Officials say the project has been at work for months, with people getting added all the time.

Topping the list, unsurprisingly, is Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the caliph of the ISIS state in Iraq and Syria, and leader of the group. “Jihadi John,” the unidentified man with a British accent in some videos, is also up near the top of the list.

The “hit list” is largely aspirational for the US, as apart from a handful of very public officials in ISIS propaganda videos, have very little good idea of who the leaders of the group are and how it is organized.

Even to the extent they’ve gotten names, particularly in Syria the US concedes they have very little intelligence capabilities on the ground. The intelligence gaps are seriously limiting the airstrike campaign in that country.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.