U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed in a national address on Sunday morning that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed during a raid in northern Syria.
CGTN’s Toby Muse has more.
Trump said that al-Baghdadi’s death was a lesson to terrorists across the planet.
President Trump repeatedly slammed al-Baghdadi as a “coward” and said he wants to release the video of the U.S. military operation to show how scared al-Baghdadi was at the approach of U.S. soldiers.
Last night, the United States brought the world’s number one terrorist leader to justice. President @realDonaldTrump addresses the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the founder and leader of ISIS. Full remarks: https://t.co/3ucibNVOU8 | More: https://t.co/b4fBx9qyY6 pic.twitter.com/odrheyNRtc
— Department of State (@StateDept) October 27, 2019
Trump himself watched the operation from the White House Situation Room via video feed.
President Trump says he kept the details of the military operation from Congress in order to avoid any information leaks ahead of the raid.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi released a statement that read:
“Americans salute the heroism, dedication & skill of our military and our intelligence professionals…
The death of al-Baghdadi is significant, but it does not mean the death of ISIS. @realDonaldTrump must present the American people with a clear strategy to confront ISIS.
This is the latest in a string of military defeats for the Islamic State, a group that once controlled territory the size of the United Kingdom in Syria and Iraq.