ISIS Leader Baghdadi Dies In U.S. Special Forces Raid

President Trump announced Sunday morning that U.S. special forces killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi during a night raid in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, fulfilling “the top national security priority” of the Trump administration in the wake of a Syrian military withdrawal.

“He was vicious and violent, and he died in a vicious and violent way, as a coward, running and crying,” Trump stated in a White House speech. “. . . Baghdadi’s demise demonstrates America’s relentless pursuit of terrorist leaders, and our commitment to the enduring and total defeat of ISIS.”

Trump, who watched the operation live from the situation room, hinted at the mission Saturday night, tweeting “Something very big has just happened!” On Sunday, the president suggested that he would support releasing footage of the mission to counter the Islamic State’s propaganda.