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Asked whether al-Baghdadi's body had been buried at sea, Milley would only say that the \"disposal of his remains\" is \"complete and was handled appropriately,\" following additional DNA identification at a secure facility.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced that U.S. troops will \"remain positioned\" in the Deir ez-Zor area of eastern Syria to guard oil fields in order to deny ISIS access to those resources.

\"That's our mission, to secure the oil fields,\" Esper said without providing details of how many American service members would be deployed there.

The U.S. will \"respond with overwhelming military force against any group who threatens the safety of our forces there,\" he added.

The death of al-Baghdadi has highlighted the importance of having U.S. troops in the region and in Syria specifically to defend against an ISIS resurgence after the president decided to pull about 1,000 U.S. forces from northeastern Syria following a Turkish incursion along the border.

\"Trump described yesterday Baghdadi whimpering and crying before he died. Can you elaborate or confirm?\"

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley: “I don’t know what the source of that was, but I assume it was talking directly to unit members.” https://t.co/TzJcuPpyEw pic.twitter.com/fVVMYz2BLM

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) October 28, 2019

Asked about how difficult the al-Baghdadi raid would have been without American service members in Syria and Iraq, Esper said the U.S. military has \"incredible reach.\"

\"We can strike anybody, anytime, anywhere,\" he said.

\"PHOTO:
Omar Haj Kadour/AFP via Getty Images
PHOTO: An aerial view taken on on October 27, 2019, shows the site that was hit by helicopter gunfire which reportedly killed nine people near the northwestern Syrian village of Barisha in the Idlib province along the border with Turkey.
>

The secretary praised U.S. special operations forces, saying they executed the \"high risk\" mission \"brilliantly.\"

\"There is no guarantee of success in an operation with this level of difficulty.\" he said. \"And President Trump knew this when he made the bold decision to order the raid, confident in the expertise of our forces.\"

Milley declined to reveal the name of the U.S. military dog who was slightly wounded in the operation after chasing al-Baghdadi through a dead-end tunnel, where the ISIS leader ultimately detonated his suicide vest, killing himself and three children.

\"We're protecting the dog's identity,\" Milley said, adding that the dog is back on duty and still in the region.

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