ISIS Chief Baghdadi killed in US operations, confirms Donald Trump

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said Sunday that terrorist leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed during a special operations raid over the weekend.

Al-Baghdadi led the extremist organization known as the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.

Al-Baghdadi is the highest-ranking terrorist to be killed or captured since the death of Osama bin Laden in 2011.

United States Special Operations commandos made the raid late Saturday in northwestern Syria, Trump said. News reports said the raid targeted al-Baghdadi, who was located with the assistance of the CIA.

Baghdadi, the most notorious IS leader, has been in hiding for the last five years.

On Saturday, US Special Operation Commandos carried out a risky raid in northwestern Syria against Baghdadi's hideouts in the Idlib province.

Though the Trump administration is yet to announce the death of Baghdadi, media has reported that he was killed in the operation conducted by the US Army's elite Delta Force.

According to The New York Times, Baghdadi is believed to have detonated a suicide vest during the raid conducted by the US military.

Following the media report, Trump without divulging details tweeted that "Something very big has just happened!".

In April, Bagdadi appeared in a propaganda video a week after a series of bombings rattled Sri Lanka in which more than 250 people were killed. He last appeared in 2014 during a sermon at the Great Mosque in Mosul. The speech marked the rise of self-declared "Caliphate" of IS in Iraq and Syria. However, Baghdadi has periodically issued audio statements, with the last being in August 2018.

The United States had earlier announced a reward of USD 25 million for information leading to Baghdadi's death or arrest.