THE UNITED STATES HAS BROUGHT THE LEADER OF ISIS TO JUSTICE

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 27, 2019 THE UNITED STATES HAS BROUGHT THE LEADER OF ISIS TO JUSTICE “Last night was a great night for the United States and for the World. A brutal killer, one who has caused so much hardship and death, was violently eliminated – he will never again harm another innocent man, woman or child. He died like a dog. He died like a coward. The world is now a much safer place. God bless the United States of America!” – President Donald J. Trump BRINGING AL-BAGHDADI TO JUSTICE: President Donald J. Trump has announced that the leader of ISIS has been brought to justice and is dead following a successful United States operation. President Trump announced a successful United States operation has finally brought to justice Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the founder and leader of ISIS. The United States has been searching for Baghdadi for years and has been a top national security priority of President Trump. Baghdadi and the cowards around him are responsible for horrific and depraved violence, including the deaths of Americans James Foley, Steven Sotloff, Peter Kassig, and Kayla Mueller. The operation was named in honor of one of Baghdadi’s American victims, Kayla Mueller.   ISIS publicly beheaded more than 300 people under Baghdadi, committed genocidal killings of the Yazidi population, and killed thousands of captured prisoners of war. This operation is a win for the United States and the world and a reminder that we will continue to pursue all ISIS terrorists to the end. EXECUTING A SUCCESSFUL OPERATION: This daring operation was launched at President Trump’s direction, successfully leading to the death of Baghdadi with no American forces lost. This daring nighttime raid was launched at the direction of President Trump and is the result of a team effort by the military and partners from across the counterterrorism community. Throughout the operation, the President and members of his national security team monitored developments in the Situation Room. President Trump took steps to ensure that this operation would not be leaked and our troops put in danger. In order to protect the safety of our troops, other countries with forces in the region were notified that American forces would be moving through the area. The operation was a team effort by America’s finest, successfully leading to the confirmed death of the leader of ISIS – the most ruthless and violent terror organization in the world. At 7:15pm Eastern Daylight Time on October 26, the Special Operations force commander on the ground reported that Baghdadi had been killed. A combination of visual evidence and DNA tests confirmed Baghdadi’s identity. No American personnel were lost in the operation, while five other enemy combatants were killed in the compound and additional enemies were killed in the vicinity. An American military working dog was wounded and two United States military members were slightly wounded but have returned to duty.   DECIMATING ISIS: The United States and our coalition partners have completely destroyed ISIS’ territorial caliphate and continue to bring these vile terrorists to justice. When he took office, President Trump empowered our commanders on the ground and ensured we were taking the fight to ISIS. The United States and our coalition partners successfully destroyed ISIS’ so-called caliphate. In March of this year, it was announced that all ISIS-held territory in Iraq and Syria had been liberated.   The United States worked with our Global Coalition, Iraqi Security Forces, and Syrian Democratic Forces to destroy the so-called caliphate. After successfully destroying ISIS’ caliphate, we have continued to pursue any remaining ISIS leaders and fighters and bring them to justice. The United States and our coalition partners have captured and killed numerous ISIS leaders, disrupting the terrorist organization’s ability to organize and plan attacks. The United States and our partners have pursued a campaign against the most senior ISIS officials that have kept the organization’s leadership in a constant state of disarray. President Trump has made clear that the United States will continue to pursue the remaining ISIS terrorists until they are brought to justice. The United States is committed to ensuring the remnants of ISIS are destroyed and that it can never regain its so-called caliphate. The United States remains committed to the Coalition and is confident that we will ensure a lasting defeat of ISIS.