US1 min(s) read
Published 14:29 27 Oct 2019 GMT
United States President Donald Trump has announced that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed by US forces in Syria.
In an address to the nation from the White House, President Trump said;
"A brutal killer, one who has caused so much hardship and death, has violently been eliminated.
"He will never again harm another innocent man, woman or child. He died like a dog. He died like a coward. The world is now a much safer place."
Per ABC News, the President revealed that he had been able to watch much of the operation in the situation room as it unfolded.
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"Al-Baghdadi was vicious and violent and he died in a vicious and violent way. As a coward running and crying," Trump continued. "This raid was impeccable and could only have taken place with the acknowledgment and help of certain other nations and people. I want to thank the nations of Russia, Turkey, Syria, and Iraq and I also want to thank the Syrian kurds for certain support they were able to give us."
Trump advised that no US troops were wounded, but that a military dog was wounded when al-Baghdadi reportedly detonated a vest.
There had been many previous reports over the years suggesting that the ISIS leader had been killed, but these were often quashed by al-Baghdadi himself through audio recordings.
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world1 min(s) read
Published 09:39 27 Oct 2019 GMT
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the caliphate leader of the notorious fundamentalist Muslim terrorist organization ISIS, has reportedly been killed in Syria.
A number of military officials are reported as claiming that American special forces carried out a strike in which they targeted the ISIS leader in the northern province of Idlib late on Saturday. Confirmation of al-Baghdadi's death is still pending, but if true, this would be a major blow to the group.
According to a report by CNN, a senior US military official claimed that that al-Baghdadi detonated a suicide vest when attacked by Delta Force. The operation to take down the ISIS leader lasted for approximately two hours, and involved choppers, planes and ground forces.
According to BBC News, The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that helicopters were deployed near the town of Barisha, just five miles from the Turkish border, at midnight on Saturday, October 26. The choppers targeted ISIS fighters with heavy strikes for about 120 minutes, with the jihadists attempting to repel the aircraft with heavy weapons.
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Western intelligence agencies believed that al-Baghdadi had gone into hiding somewhere in either Iraq or Syria, and he has still managed to release occasional audio and video messages to supporters around the world.
ISIS has been coming closer and closer to collapse, with many fighters and key figures having now been either killed or captured, its grip on Syria and parts of Iraq has been severely weakened over the years.
President Donald Trump appeared to tease the death of al-Baghdadi on social media himself, taking to Twitter to write simply: "Something very big has just happened!" However, the Republican leader has not yet confirmed or denied if this cryptic statement was meant to be a reference to the death of the ISIS leader or not.
world3 min(s) read
Published 09:09 15 Mar 2025 GMT
President Donald Trump has declared that the "the fugitive leader of ISIS in Iraq" was killed following a "precision airstrike" by the US.
Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifai - also known as Abu Khadijah - was senior leader of the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria.
Described by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani as “one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world", his death was carried out in a US-led airstrike in Iraq’s western Al Anbar province, marking a major blow to the terrorist organization.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed the operation, stating that it conducted a “precision airstrike” in coordination with Iraqi intelligence and security forces.
Rifai was identified as the group’s global operations chief and the leader of IS’s most senior decision-making body. He played a critical role in the group's logistics, planning, and financing, according to CENTCOM.
US President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to confirm the strike, saying: "Today the fugitive leader of ISIS in Iraq was killed. He was relentlessly hunted down by our intrepid warfighters.
"His miserable life was terminated, along with another member of ISIS, in coordination with the Iraqi Government and the Kurdish Regional Government. PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH!"
Following the attack, CENTCOM and Iraqi forces secured the site and confirmed the deaths of Rifai and another IS operative. Both were found wearing unexploded suicide vests and carrying multiple weapons, per BBC News.
The identification of Rifai was confirmed through DNA testing, using samples collected from a previous raid where he had narrowly escaped.
General Michael Erik Kurilla, the commander of US Central Command, called Rifai “one of the most important IS members in the entire global IS organization.”
He added, per Sky News: “We will continue to kill terrorists and dismantle their organizations that threaten our homeland and US, allied, and partner personnel in the region and beyond.”
The airstrike took place amid heightened concerns about an IS resurgence in Iraq and Syria. Iraq declared IS defeated in December 2017, and the group was driven from its last territorial stronghold in 2019. However, IS militants and sleeper cells continue to launch sporadic attacks against Iraqi security forces.
The timing of the operation coincided with a diplomatic meeting between Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani in Baghdad, where both nations pledged to continue their fight against IS. Some officials worry that instability in Syria, particularly following the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, could create conditions for an IS comeback.
This operation also comes as Iraq and the US prepare to wind down the American-led military coalition's mission against IS by September 2025, a move that will see the withdrawal of some US forces after two decades in the country.
With Rifai’s death, Iraqi and US officials are hailing the mission as a significant victory, reinforcing their commitment to dismantling IS’s remaining networks.
us2 min(s) read
Published 14:05 03 Feb 2022 GMT
President Joe Biden has announced that the leader of ISIS has been killed amid an overnight raid in northwestern Syria, in the province of Idlib.
As reported by NBC News, the POTUS revealed on Thursday that US special forces successfully killed Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, leader of the Islamic State terrorist group.
In a statement, President Biden said: "Last night at my direction, U.S. military forces successfully undertook a counterterrorism operation."
"Thanks to the bravery of our Armed Forces, we have removed from the battlefield Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi — the leader of ISIS," the statement continued.
Biden also confirmed that "all Americans have returned safely from the operation".
The president concluded his statement by announcing plans to deliver further comments about the raid later today.
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby also released a statement on the raid, in which he declared: "The mission was successful. There were no US casualties. More information will be provided as it becomes available."
NBC reports that a further 13 people were also said to have been killed in the raid, per local residents and first responders. A US administration official has since blamed any civilian casualties on an explosive used by militants. The raid is said to have lasted two hours, per Sky News.
Local residents have reported hearing helicopters and heavy gunfire from around midnight. US troops also used a loud speaker system to alert women and children to leave the area.
Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi succeeded former ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in October of 2019 after the latter was killed in a US raid earlier that month.
"While we are still assessing the results of this operation, this appears to be the same cowardly terrorist tactic we saw in the 2019 operation that eliminated al-Baghdadi," the US administration official added.
us3 min(s) read
Published 14:20 16 May 2026 GMT
Donald Trump has announced that joint US and Nigerian forces have killed a senior ISIS head during what he described as a “meticulously planned and very complex mission” in Africa.
Posting on Truth Social on Friday, the US president claimed Abu Bakr al-Mainuki, also referred to as Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, had been eliminated during the operation.
Trump described him as the “most active terrorist in the world” and said he served as the second-in-command figure within ISIS globally.
“Tonight, at my direction, brave American forces and the Armed Forces of Nigeria flawlessly executed a meticulously planned and very complex mission to eliminate the most active terrorist in the world from the battlefield,” Trump wrote.
According to the Counter Extremism Project, al-Mainuki was a Nigerian national who operated largely throughout the Sahel region, an area spanning around 12 African countries.
He reportedly held a senior leadership role within Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and helped oversee operations linked to ISIS’s General Directorate of Provinces.
Trump claimed the terror leader believed he could evade capture while hiding in Africa.
“Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, second in command of ISIS globally, thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing,” the president wrote.
“He will no longer terrorize the people of Africa, or help plan operations to target Americans.”
The president also argued that the operation would significantly weaken ISIS internationally, adding: “With his removal, ISIS’s global operation is greatly diminished.”
He ended the statement by thanking Nigerian authorities for assisting in the mission, writing: “Thank you to the Government of Nigeria for your partnership on this operation.”
Nigeria has spent years battling multiple extremist organizations, including factions linked to ISIS. Following the collapse of the group’s self-declared caliphate in Iraq and Syria in 2017, several ISIS-affiliated groups expanded across parts of West Africa.
Trump previously confirmed that US forces carried out strikes against ISIS targets in Nigeria last December, though few details were publicly released at the time.
Earlier this year, the president also deployed US troops to Nigeria in an advisory role before later authorizing drone deployments, claiming Christians were being specifically targeted amid the country’s ongoing security crisis.
The announcement came while Trump was visiting Beijing for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, where discussions reportedly focused on trade tensions, as well as the war in Iran, and Taiwan.
Speaking to Fox News during the trip, Trump said he hoped tensions between China and Taiwan would ease.
“You know, we're supposed to travel 9,500 miles (15,289km) to fight a war. I'm not looking for that,” he said. “I want them to cool down. I want China to cool down.”
world1 min(s) read
Published 17:04 29 Oct 2019 GMT
United States President Donald Trump has released a picture of a dog involved in the military operation to take down ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
President Trump took to Twitter to share an image of the dog, who appears to be a German Shepherd. Trump captioned the picture: "We have declassified a picture of the wonderful dog (name not declassified) that did such a GREAT JOB in capturing and killing the Leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi! [sic]"
Watch President Donald Trump announce the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi:
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The dog in question was apparently wounded in the engagement, although the extent of their injuries is not yet known.
Texas Congressman Jodey Arrington wrote: "This weekend, man's best friend was also freedom's best friend. Wishing a speedy recovery to our favorite four-legged fighter who served our country alongside the brave Special Ops team that took down ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi. [sic]"
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Meanwhile, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, stated: "We're not releasing the name of the dog right now. The dog is still in [the] theater. The dog, the canine, the military working dog, performed a tremendous service, as they all do in a variety of situations."
Milley added that the dog was: "slightly wounded and fully recovering. But the dog is still in the theater, returned to duty with its handlers. We're protecting the dog's identity."
On social media, a number of Twitter-users have reacted to the news of the heroic dog by making their own image macros:
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Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a Delta Force raid on his safe house in the northern province of Idlib. According to a report by CNN, a senior US military official claimed that that al-Baghdadi detonated a suicide vest when attacked by Delta Force.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that helicopters were deployed near the town of Barisha, just five miles from the Turkish border, at midnight on Saturday, October 26. The choppers targeted ISIS fighters with heavy strikes for about 120 minutes, with the jihadists failing to repel the aircraft with heavy weapons.
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