“Kill or capture” raids by U.S. Special Forces long ago became a staple of the Global War on Terror. In the early hours of Saturday, Oct. 26, American commandos executed one of the most significant kill-or-capture raids in the history of that long war, cutting the head off the Islamic State, the most notorious Islamic extremist organization in the world today.

The operation took place in northwestern Syria, inside a compound in the village of Barisha, about four miles from the Turkish border. Intelligence officers had confirmed that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and several of his children were within the compound hours before the attack commenced.