IgbereTV reports that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State was believed to have been killed in a raid on Saturday by US Special Operation Forces in Syria.
It was reported that Baghdadi had died several times before only to resurface, alive. He was last seen alive in a video in April.
US officials who were unidentified were was quoted by ABC News as saying his death was certain this time around. President Donald Trump tweeted: “Something very big has just happened!”.
One official told ABC News al-Baghdadi is believed to have detonated a suicide vest he was wearing as a U.S. special mission unit carried out a ground raid in Idlib. The building containing al-Baghdadi was levelled by U.S. operators, the official said.
U.S. officials said they are awaiting final confirmation of his death through fingerprinting or other biometric methods.
The White House declined to comment, saying the president was planning to deliver remarks at 9 a.m. EDT Sunday. No details were provided on what would be included in President Donald Trump’s remarks. Reuters reported that Syrian officials had informed Iran about al-Baghdadi’s death, quoting two Iranian officials.
The second Iranian official said: “Iran was informed about Baghdadi’s death by Syrian officials who got it from the field,” one of the officials said.
