The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
IS leader ‘died like a dog’
● Trump says US special forces have killed terror boss al-Baghdadi
The shadowy leader of so-called Islamic State, who presided over its global jihad and was arguably the world’s most wanted man, is dead after being targeted by a US military raid in Syria, President Donald Trump said.
“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”.
Addressing the nation from the White House, he described a daring airborne raid by American special operations forces in Syria’s north-western Idlib province and said they flew over heavily militarised territory controlled by multiple nations and forces.
No US troops were killed or injured Mr Trump said.
As US forces bore down on al-Baghdadi, he fled into a “dead-end” 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. He died like a dog, he died like a coward,” said Mr Trump.
Al-Baghdadi’s identity was confirmed by a DNA test onsite, he added.
Late on Saturday, he had teased a major announcement, 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.
The recent pullback of US troops he ordered from north-eastern Syria raised a storm of bipartisan criticism in Washington that the militant group could regain strength having lost vast stretches of territory it once controlled.
Mr Trump said the troop pullout “had nothing to do with this”. Planning for the operation began two weeks ago, Mr Trump said, after the US 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, Mr Trump said, before landing under gunfire at the compound.
Mr Trump said US forces breached the walls of the building because the doors were booby-trapped and chased al-Baghdadi into the tunnel, which partially collapsed after al-Baghdadi detonated the suicide vest.
He also revealed that US forces spent roughly two hours on the ground collecting intelligence.
Mr Trump said he watched the operation from the White House Situation Room as it played out live.
He suggested he may order the release of the video so the world knows alBaghdadi did not die a hero and spent his final moments “crying”, “whimpering” and “screaming”.