ISIS Leader al-Baghdadi Thought Killed in American Raid, U.S. Official Says

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the shadowy leader of the Islamic State group who presided over its global jihad and became arguably the world’s most wanted man, is believed dead after being targeted by a U.S. military raid in Syria.

A U.S. official told The Associated Press late Saturday that al-Baghdadi was targeted in Syria’s Idlib province. The official said confirmation that the ISIS chief was killed in an explosion is pending. No other details were available. The official was not authorized to discuss the strike and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Two Iraqi security sources and two Iranian officials said they had received confirmation from inside Syria that al-Baghdadi had been killed.

"Our sources from inside Syria have confirmed to the Iraqi intelligence team tasked with pursuing Baghdadi that he has been killed alongside his personal bodyguard in Idlib after his hiding place was discovered when he tried to get his family out of Idlib towards the Turkish border," said one of the sources.

skip
– Newsweek al-Baghdadi Suicide Vest, October 27, 2019

#breakingnews @Newsweek can confirm that #Baghdadi was killed after he detonated a suicide vest after a small firefight. No US forces were injured. His wives were killed in the raid and children were unharmed. No US casualties. https://t.co/MzdXT8YRGV

— Naveed Jamali (@NaveedAJamali) October 27, 2019

A commander of one of the militant factions in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib said al-Baghdadi was believed to have been killed in a raid after midnight on Saturday involving helicopters, warplanes and a ground clash in the village of Brisha near the Turkish border.