Has ISIS chief Baghdadi been killed in US operation?
The United States launched a covert operation late on Saturday night in which Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the chief of terror outfit ISIS, is believed to have died. The notorious terrorist, having a bounty of $25 million, was eliminated in Syria's Idlib. Soon after reports surfaced, US President Donald Trump teased an announcement, tweeting "Something very big has just happened!" Here are more details.
Trump green-lit the operation a week ago: Report
Giving details of the raid, Newsweek said Trump approved the operation a week before it happened. Citing a senior Pentagon official and an Army personnel, the portal said Baghdadi was the target of the operation and he died. The defense forces were assisted by CIA officials in locating Baghdadi, whose outfit has taken the lives of thousands across the globe.
Defense Department is confident Baghdadi is no more
Notably, the report also added that Defense Department apprised White House with "immense confidence" that Baghdadi was killed, but further verification is pending. The raid was launched on the basis of reliable intelligence. The spot where he was hiding had been on forces' radar for quite some time. According to the Pentagon official cited above, Baghdadi killed himself by detonating a suicide vest.
Here's what Trump tweeted
The dreaded terrorist had minimized his appearances
It should be noted that Baghdadi has been in hiding for the last five years. In July 2014, the Iraqi national and ultraconservative cleric spoke from a mosque in Mosul and his speech was widely televised. In April, the media wing of ISIS, al-Furqan, released a video of a man saying it was Baghdadi. He spoke for just 40 seconds in the clip.
Baghdadi was also associated with al Qaeda
To note, Baghdadi had joined al Qaeda in Iraq and eventually grew in ranks. In 2010, he became chief of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) and three years later, al Qaeda-backed militant group in Syria joined the outfit. Thereafter, he renamed the organization ISIS. In 2017, Baghdadi got injured in airstrikes and had to give up control of ISIS as he was recuperating.
