President Donald Trump has confirmed that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been killed following a U.S. military raid in northwest Syria over the weekend, CNN reported.
Al-Baghdadi led the extremist organization known as the Islamic State, also referred to as ISIS. He had previously remained in hiding while being pursued by America and its allies since the rise of ISIS in 2014, and had a $25 million bounty on his head.
After providing no further information for the rest of the night, he appeared in a live televised broadcast at the White House on Sunday morning where he revealed that the ISIS leader is dead.
"Last night the United States brought the world's No. 1 terrorist leader to justice," he said, calling the al-Baghdadi's removal "the top national security priority of my administration."
There, al-Baghadi detonated a suicide vest, killing himself and three children who he had "dragged" into the tunnel with him. No U.S. deaths were reported from the mission.
"He died like a dog," Trump said. "He died like a coward. The world is now a much safer place. He was a sick and depraved man, and now he's gone."
He branded the mission as having been "very dangerous", as U.S. forces had to fly in and out of Syria. He thanked Russia, Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Syrian Kurds for their assistance.
Trump reported that eleven children, who were uninjured, were moved out of the house. While it was unclear who the children belonged to, some fighters at the scene were taken and imprisoned.
h/t: CNN
