Trump confirms death of ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

(Patria) – US President Donald Trump has confirmed earlier media reports that ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead.

The United States carried out a military operation in Syria in the past two days aimed at capturing the long-sought leader of this terrorist organization.

In a previously announced statement on Sunday at 1:00 PM, Trump revealed details of the two-hour operation in northern Syria during which US forces cornered al-Baghdadi into a tunnel where he committed suicide by detonating an explosive vest. His three children also lost their lives in the explosion.

'The US has been searching for Baghdadi for many years. Capturing or killing Baghdadi was the top national security priority of my administration,' Trump said.

The terrorist leader, originally from Iraq, for whose head a reward of 25 million US dollars was offered, had been leading ISIL since 2010, during its precursor Al-Qaeda in Iraq, reports The Guardian.

At the height of its power, ISIL ruled over millions of people in territory stretching from northern Syria through towns and villages along the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys to the outskirts of Baghdad.

However, after the fall of Mosul and Raqqa, ISIL's strongest strongholds in Iraq and Syria, Baghdadi's power began to decline sharply and he became a fugitive.

Most of his commanders were killed in US airstrikes.

Although it has lost most of its territory, ISIL is believed to have 'sleepers' worldwide, while some are still actively fighting in the Syrian desert and Iraqi cities, reports The Guardian.

A White House Twitter message stated that 'last night was a great night for the US and the world. A brutal killer who caused so much suffering and death has been violently eliminated – he will never again harm innocent men, women, and children.'