Trump says US forces cornered IS leader
WASHINGTON — Abu Bakr al - Baghdadi, t he shadowy leader of the Islamic State group who presided over its global jihad and became arguably t he world's most wanted man, blew himself up as U.S. special operators cornered him during ar aid in Syria, President Donald Trump said Sunday.
“Last night, the United States brought the world's No. 1 terrorist leader to justice,” Trump announced at the White House, providing graphic details of al- Baghdadi ' s final moment sat the helm of the militant organization. “Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead.”
In a national address, Trump described the nighttime airborne raid in Syria' s northwestern Idlib province, with American special operations forces flying over heavily militarized territory controlled by multiple nations and forces. No U.S. troops were killed in the operation, Trump said.
The death of al-Bag hd a di was a milestone in the fight against IS, which brutalized swaths of Syria and Iraq and sought to direct a global campaign from a selfdeclared“caliphate .” A yearslong campaign by American and allied forces led to there capture of the group' s territorial holding, but its violent ideology has continued to inspire attacks.
As U.S. troops bore down on al - Baghdadi, he fled into a “dead-end” tunnel with three of his children, Trump said, and detonated a suicide vest. “He was a sick and depraved man, and now he's gone,” Trump said. “He died like a dog, he died like a coward.”
Al-Baghdadi's identity was confirmed by a DNA test conducted onsite, Trump said.
Trump had teased a major announcement late Saturday, tweeting that“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 operation marks a significant foreign policy success for Trump, coming at one of the lowest points in his presidency as he is mi red in impeachment proceedings and facing widespread Republican condemnation for his Syria policy.
The recent pullback of U.S. troops he ordered from northeastern Syria raised a storm of bi partisan criticism in Washington that the militant group could regain strength after it had lost vast stretches of territory it had once controlled. Trump said the troop pullout “had nothing to do with this.”
Planning for the operation began weeks ago, Trump said, after the U.S. gained unspecified intelligence on al-Baghdadi's whereabouts. Eight military helicopters flew for more than an hour over territory controlled by Russian and Syrian forces, Trump said, before landing under gunfire at the compound.
Trump vivid ly described the raid and took extensive qu esti ons from reporters for more than 45 minutes Sunday. He said U.S. forces breached the wall soft he building because the doors were boob y-trapped and chased al-Baghdadi into the tunnel, which partially collapsed after al- Baghdadi detonated the suicide vest. Many homes in Syria, which has been riven by civil war since 2011, have subterranean tunnels or shelters from the fighting.
Trump also revealed that U.S. forces spent roughly two hours on the ground collecting valuable intelligence. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Sunday that the U.S .led Coalition launched at least one airstrike in western Aleppo aimed at Abu Hassan al-Muhajer, an aide to al-Baghdadi.
Trump said he watched the operation from the White House Situation room as it played out live “as though you were watching a movie .” Trump suggested he may order the release of the video so that the world knows al-Baghdadi did not die of a hero and spent his final moments “crying, “whimpering” and “screaming.”
Trump approved the operation Saturday morning after receiving “actionable intelligence,” Vice President Mike Pence told CBS' “Face the Nation.”
Trump had spent Friday night at Camp David and flew by helicopter Saturday morning to golf a this private Virginia club. He t hen returned to the White House.
Trump said he teased the announcement as soon as American forces landed safely in a thirdcountry. An Iraqi security official confirmed the U.S. aircraft took off from the Al-Asad air base in western Iraq, where Trump visited American forces in December.