President Trump announced Sunday morning that U.S. special forces killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi during a night raid in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, fulfilling “the top national security priority” of the Trump administration in the wake of a Syrian military withdrawal.

“He was vicious and violent, and he died in a vicious and violent way, as a coward, running and crying,” Trump stated in a White House speech. “. . . Baghdadi’s demise demonstrates America’s relentless pursuit of terrorist leaders, and our commitment to the enduring and total defeat of ISIS.”

The U.S. military raid resulting in the death of Islamic State founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi also yielded an array of valuable intelligence concerning the militant group and its top leaders, defense officials said, providing details that likely will lead to future operations.

The Defense officials and Pentagon leaders on Monday wouldn’t detail the intelligence recovered on Saturday, but said it consisted of data-storage devices and other files that will add to the understanding of Islamic State as the U.S. and allies continue pursuing its leaders and operatives.

The mockery and the spin from President Trump’s political opponents poured in as soon as he made his announcement on Sunday about US forces killing ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

President Donald Trump asserted in his televised address from the White House Sunday that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was "whimpering and crying " before ultimately detonating his suicide vest in a tunnel as US commandos closed in.

Trump painted the ISIS leader as a coward, describing in great detail how he "spent his last moments in utter fear, in total panic and dread, terrified of the American forces bearing down on him."
"He died like a dog. ...The world is now a much safer place," he added.

The Defense Department is on alert for possible retaliation from ISIS in the wake of the reported killing of its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, by U.S. Special Forces last weekend, according to The Associated Press.

Gen. Kenneth “Frank” Mackenzie spoke of the possible threat Wednesday as part of the most detailed account to date of the operation and echoed warnings by both critics and allies of President Trump that the operation had not eliminated the threat from the terror group.

The parents of victims of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi are calling on President Trump to work with them on trying to bring more U.S. hostages and detainees home from around the world.

The Trump administration has prioritized the return of American hostages during his presidency. While announcing the death of ISIS leader al-Baghdadi last weekend, Trump named some of the innocent Americans who were killed at the hands of ISIS.

NORTHERN SYRIA — The Islamic State militant group's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was betrayed by a member of his inner circle who helped lead American troops to his compound in northern Syria.

The commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, Gen. Mazloum Abdi, gave NBC News a detailed account of how he spent months running a spy inside ISIS who followed al-Baghdadi as he moved from one safe house to another, until he was finally trapped in a tunnel beneath one of them.

WASHINGTON – The Pentagon released details and graphic footage Wednesday of the secret raid that killed ISIS founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi over the weekend.

Marine Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, the four-star chief of Central Command who oversaw the operation, said the raid on Oct. 25 killed six ISIS fighters, including Bagdhadi.

McKenzie described a fast, lethal strike in which militants from groups not related to Baghdadi were also killed. No U.S. commandos were wounded in the raid. A military working dog sustained injuries from an electrical wire but has returned to duty.

WASHINGTON — Delta Force commandos took two Islamic State fighters as prisoners and a trove of intelligence from the now-destroyed compound where Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the world’s most wanted terrorist, had been hiding, officials said Monday.

The prisoners, who are being held in Iraq, are being questioned by the United States military. If the Trump administration follows its previous practice with captured Islamic State fighters, the men will eventually be turned over to the Iraqi government for prosecution.