Trump Announces ISIS Leader Dead After US Raid in Syria

In this image released by the White House, President Donald Trump is joined by Vice President Mike Pence, second from left, national security adviser Robert O’Brien, left; Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, second from right, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, right, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019, in the Situation Room of the White House monitoring developments in the U.S. Special Operations forces raid that took out Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Shealah Craighead/White House via AP

The fugitive leader of the ISIS terrorist group is now dead, President Donald Trump announced at the White House on Oct. 27, adding that capturing or killing Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was a top national security priority under his administration.

The president noted that no U.S. personnel died in the risky nighttime raid carried out by Special Operations forces in northwestern Syria over the night of Oct. 26. A large number of Baghdadi’s fighters and companions were killed along with him.