Islamic State leader ‘died like a coward’
US FORCES TAKE OUT TERRORIST
THE shadowy leader of so-called Islamic State is dead after being targeted by a US military raid in Syria, President Donald Trump announced.
“Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead,” Mr Trump announced at the White House, saying the US had “brought the world’s number one terrorist leader to justice”.
From the White House, the president described an airborne raid by American special operations forces in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province and said they flew over heavily militarised territory controlled by multiple nations and forces.
No US troops were killed or injured in the raid, Mr Trump said.
As US forces bore down on alBaghdadi, he fled into a “deadend” tunnel with three of his children, Mr Trump said, and detonated a suicide vest.
“He was a sick and depraved man, and now he’s gone,” the president said.
“He died like a dog, he died like a coward.”
Al-Baghdadi’s identity was positively confirmed by a DNA test conducted onsite, Mr Trump said.
Late on Saturday, he had teased the news, tweeting: “Something very big has just happened!”
By the morning, he was thanking Russia, Turkey, Syria and Iraq, as well as Kurdish fighters in Syria for their support.
The killing of al-Baghdadi marks a significant foreign policy success for
Mr Trump, coming at one of the lowest points in his presidency as he is mired in impeachment proceedings and facing widespread Republican condemnation for his Syria policy.