Trump says Islamic State leader Baghdadi dead in US forces raid – World

President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that the fugitive leader of the Islamic State Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a raid by US special forces in northwestern Syria, in a major blow to the militant group.

Baghdadi killed himself during the raid by lighting a suicide vest, Trump said in a televised speech from the White House. The results of the post-raid tests positively identified Baghdadi, he said.

"He was a sick and depraved man and now he's gone," Trump said.

Baghdadi's death was an important victory for Trump weeks after his sudden decision to withdraw US troops from Syria caused a wave of harsh criticism, even from other Republicans, that the move would lead to a resurgence of the Islamic State .

"The thug who tried so hard to intimidate others spent his last moments in complete fear, panic and fear, terrified by the US forces attacking him," said the Republican president.

Trump said Baghdadi died after encountering a dead end tunnel.

“He reached the end of the tunnel when our dogs chased him. He lit his vest, killing himself and his three children. His body was mutilated by the explosions. The tunnel had collapsed on him, ”Trump added.

In what could end up being one of Trump's most important national security achievements, the assassination of Baghdadi will help the Republican president project strength while fighting a growing impeachment investigation launched by Democrats last month.

Baghdadi had long been wanted by the United States, as head of a militant group that at one time controlled large areas of Syria and Iraq, declaring a caliphate. The group has carried out atrocities against religious minorities and attacks on five continents in the name of a version of an ultra fanatic Islam that horrified conventional Muslims.

In recent years, the group had lost most of its territory. But while the destruction of the quasi-state that Baghdadi built has denied the group its recruitment tool and its logistical base from which it could train combatants and plan coordinated attacks abroad, most security experts believe that the Islamic State It remains a threat through clandestine operations or attacks.

Trump had faced the withering criticism of his Republican and Democratic colleagues for announcing the withdrawal of US troops from northeastern Syria earlier this month, which allowed Turkey to attack the Kurdish allies of the United States while seeking to establish a " safe zone".

Many critics of the withdrawal have expressed concern over the abandonment of Kurdish forces that had decisively contributed to defeating the Islamic State in Syria, and because the measure could allow the group to regain strength and pose a threat to US interests.

$ 25 million reward

Raghdadi, an Iraqi native who is believed to be around 48 years old, was rarely seen.

After 2014, he disappeared from sight, only appeared in a video in April this year with a gray and red beard and an assault rifle by his side, while encouraging fans to "get back" from the members of the Islamic State who They had been killed.

His reappearance was seen as a reaffirmation of his leadership of a group that, although he had lost his physical territory, had spread from the Middle East to Asia and Africa and claimed several deadly attacks in Europe.

But Baghdadi kept running away. The U.S. Department of State UU. He published a $ 25 million reward for information on his whereabouts.

Under Baghdadi, the State Department said IS "has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians in the Middle East, including the brutal killing of numerous civilian hostages in Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States."

In September, the group released an audio message that is said to come from Baghdad and praises the operations of Islamic State affiliates in other regions.