Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is killed in Syria

A “high-value ISIS target” believed to be Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed by US-led forces in Idlib, Syria said a well-positioned military source to the media on Saturday night. The United States Army has conducted a special operations raid against one of its most valuable targets, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State militant group (ISIS), according to Newsweek. President Donald Trump approved the mission almost a week before it was carried out.

Statement from @POTUS on the Death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi: the world’s #1 terrorist and leader of ISIS. https://t.co/qII4Rqlyrl

Thank you to the brave men & women who planned & executed this Special Operations raid – with the death of this monster, the world is a safer place. pic.twitter.com/1aAEPTbA1M

— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) October 27, 2019

Amid Saturday’s reports of US military helicopters over the province of Idlib in northwestern Syria, a senior Pentagon official familiar with the operation and an army officer informed about the matter told Newsweek that Baghdadi was the target of the top-secret operation in the last bastion of the country’s Islamist. The dominated opposition, a faction that has faced ISIS in recent years.

The death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Islamic State leader, happened largely in spite of President Trump’s actions, not because of them, according to military, intelligence and counterterrorism officials https://t.co/f7iowu8U54

— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) October 27, 2019

The U.S. Army UU. You cannot confirm the identity of the deceased target

On Saturday night, after the operation had concluded, President Trump tweeted: “Something very big has just happened!” The White House announced later that the president will make a “major statement” Sunday at 9:00 a.m.

“He was a sick and depraved man, and now he’s gone. Baghdadi was vicious and violent and he died in a vicious and violent way”

US President Donald Trump says the “world is now a much safer place” after the killing of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadihttps://t.co/yePDgUsGuJ pic.twitter.com/WBB3nUjC4r

— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) October 27, 2019

Shortly after, the White House issued a statement that very important news from the White House would be announced at 9 a.m. on Sunday.

Newsweek reported Saturday night that Baghdadi was killed during a special operations mission that President Trump approved about a week ago.