Terrorist leader al-Baghdadi killed in Syria raid, Trump says
WASHINGTON - U.S. special forces in Syria carried out a successful operation in which Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State militant group, died, President Trump announced Sunday.
"Last night the United States brought the world's No. 1 terrorist leader to justice," Trump said during a televised appearance at the White House.
The raid, which Trump said took roughly two hours, was carried out Saturday in Syria's Idlib Province, in the northwestern part of the country.
No U.S. personnel were killed in the raid, Trump said, adding that al-Baghdadi died by detonating a suicide vest after being trapped in a tunnel. The explosion killed three children who were with the terrorist leader, Trump said.
Two women, believed to be wives of al-Baghdadi, also died in the raid, he said, and 11 children who survived the raid were turned over to local forces.
"He was a sick and depraved man, and now he's gone," Trump said, vowing that the U.S. would "continue to pursue the remaining ISIS terrorists,"
