Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in US raid in northwestern Syria, US president says
Footage captured by an Anadolu Agency drone in northern Syria depicts the location where Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the head of terrorist group Daesh, or ISIS, was killed by the U.S. forces.
Intensive bombings have destroyed three buildings and damaged the tents around the houses in Idlib’s Barisa village.
Some craters created by the bombardments were also seen among olive trees.
A total of eight U.S. helicopters and two unmanned aerial crafts joined the operation which lasted for four hours.
Baghdadi's whereabouts and status have long been a mystery, and multiple claims have been made that he was killed in various battlefields in Iraq or Syria.
On Sunday, the U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Baghdadi had been killed in a U.S. operation in Syria bringing “the world's number one terrorist leader to justice.”
The Turkish Defense Ministry confirmed in a tweet on Sunday that the U.S. and Turkish authorities shared information and coordinated before the start of the operation to kill the Daesh/ISIS supremo.
Trump thanked Turkey, Russia, Syria and Iraq for their cooperation in the raid, further saying Ankara was "terrific," and noting U.S. forces "flew over" some Turkish territory during the mission.
Turkey recognized Daesh/ISIS as a terrorist organization in 2013.
Since then, Turkey has been attacked by Daesh/ISIS terrorists numerous times, including in 10 suicide bombings, seven bombings, and four armed attacks.
These attacks killed 315 people, including 11 police officers and two soldiers -- and injured 137 civilians, 62 police officers and seven soldiers.
In response to these attacks, Turkey launched anti-terror operations at home and abroad.
In two cross-border military operations in Syria since 2016, Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch, Turkey neutralized 3,500 Daesh/ISIS terrorists and arrested 5,500.
