Published 19:24 IST, October 29th 2019
Donald Trump confirms killing of Baghdadi's 'replacement' by US troops
United States president Donald Trump on Tuesday announced that Islamic State chief Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi’s replacement was terminated by American forces.
Following the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a US-led operation on October 26, the United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday claimed that even the successor of the slain ISIS chief was killed by American forces. Trump claimed that the "number one replacement" has been killed, further stating that the dead terrorist would have 'likely' taken the top spot.
"Just confirmed that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s number one replacement has been terminated by American troops," said Trump.
ISIS chief killed
Making the huge announcement on Sunday evening, Trump confirmed that ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been killed, in the north-west Syrian province of Idlib. In addition, Trump also said that Baghdadi was in the crosshairs of US intelligence surveillance for 'a couple of weeks'. Moreover stating no American soldiers were killed in the operation against the ISIS chief.
On Sunday, while announcing the raid and Baghdadi's death at the White House, Trump said that watching a live feed from the scene of the operation was like watching "a movie." Trump announced the success of the raid, saying Baghdadi, who is said to be 48 years old, died "whimpering and crying and screaming", and "like a dog and a coward", adding that the ISIS leader and "the losers" under his command "were very frightened puppies"
Baghdadi came to prominence in 2014, when he announced the creation of a "caliphate" in areas of Iraq and Syria. ISIS carried out a number of atrocities that resulted in thousands of deaths. Despite being hunted by the world's best intelligence agencies and US authorities offering a whopping USD 25 million reward for information leading to his capture, Baghdadi had proved to be incredibly elusive. The killing of the ISIS leader - the top terrorist leader - comes as a major political victory for president Trump who is facing an impeachment proceeding against him by the opposition Democratic Party, which hold the majority in the House of Representatives.
(With PTI inputs)
Updated 19:58 IST, October 29th 2019