Trump details explosive U.S. raid that killed ISIS leader

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Sunday announced the death of the leader of the Islamic State terrorist group — Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi — describing in graphic detail the explosive raid in northern Syria, led by U.S. Special Operations forces, that Trump said caused the reclusive leader to spend "his last moments in utter fear."

“Last night the United States brought the world's number one terrorist leader to justice,” Trump said in a rare Sunday morning televised address from the White House.

Trump's speech confirmed earlier news reports that emerged from Syria late Saturday night about al-Baghdadi’s possible death following a U.S.-led raid. The Iraqi-born terrorist leader had long eluded U.S. forces despite several close calls and multiple rumors about his death in years past that would eventually be disproven. 

Trump said on-site DNA tests confirmed the founding leader of the Islamic State had died, his body "mutilated," after he detonated an explosive vest in an underground tunnel. 

“He died like a dog. He died like a coward. The world is a much safer place," Trump said after he laid out the graphic scene leading up to al-Baghdadi's death.

The president said American dogs "chased" al-Baghdadi down a dead-end tunnel where he detonated his device, killing himself and three children.

“They brought body parts back with them,” Trump said of the scene where U.S. commandos tested al-Baghdadi’s DNA in a matter of “15 minutes.”

Trump said no Americans "were lost in the operation," but a military dog was injured.

The president said he watched the raid in real time from the White House Situation Room, joined by Vice President Mike Pence, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and other top military officials.  He compared the unfolding events to "watching a movie."

Trump offered revelatory details of the mission that some military analysts said could pose a threat to U.S. intelligence sources in the region and could offer other foreign powers an insight into how such missions are carried out by the United States.

The president noted that eight U.S. military helicopters descended on the compound housing al-Baghdadi, after “an hour and 10-minute” flight from an undisclosed location, later reported to be Iraq. Trump said U.S. forces “blew holes into the side of the building, not wanting to go through the main door because that was booby-trapped.”

He added that U.S. officials had been preparing to carry out the mission for the past three days, after spending weeks trailing the elusive  leader. 

Esper said "less than 100" U.S. troops were on the ground during the bloody mission, adding that the operation was aided by a "much bigger" behind-the-scenes presence of U.S. intelligence officials.

Al-Baghdadi's death comes as the United States has started to reduce its presence in northern Syria after Trump ordered the withdrawal of nearly 1,000 U.S. troops from the region earlier this month. Trump has said a "small number" will remain in the country, but has not specified how many will remain.

The withdrawal has been widely criticized by lawmakers, including some of Trump's staunchest Republican allies on Capitol Hill, who have said the retreat was a betrayal of the Syrian Kurdish forces who helped the United States reduce the ranks of the Islamic State in the region. Following the withdrawal of a first wave of troops, Turkey launched a deadly invasion into northern Syria to claim territory long held by the Kurds. 

Lawmakers and former top national security advisers have said the withdrawal could lead to a resurgence of the Islamic State, as hundreds of the group's sympathizers and militants escaped from detention facilities in the aftermath of Turkey's invasion.

Esper told ABC's "This Week" officials believe 100 of those who escaped remain at large.

Former National Director of Intelligence James Clapper, appearing on CNN's "State of the Union" warned that the United States can't "stop worrying about ISIS” despite al- Baghdadi's death, and former White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice told CBS's "Face the Nation" that "what we’ve seen time and time again in this part of the world is that when the pressure is relieved on terror organizations they can reconstitute."

In the past five years, Islamic State supporters pledging allegiance to al-Baghdadi have carried out deadly attacks throughout the world, including the December 2015 shooting rampage in San Bernardino, California, that left 14 dead, and the October 2017 attack in Lower Manhattan that left eight people dead and others injured after they were stabbed and run over by a rental truck driven by an ISIS follower.

Reading from prepared remarks, Trump noted the Islamic State was behind the "murder of innocent Americans," including journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and humanitarian aid workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller.

Foley’s mother, Diane Foley of New Hampshire, said in a statement she was “grateful to our President and brave troops,” but also urged Trump to prioritize the release of other Americans held hostage in Syria, including journalist Austin Tice.

Trump in his remarks acknowledged the aid of the Syrian Kurds "for certain support" in the operation, but he first offered praise to Russia for allowing the United States to use heavily militarized airspace in Syria controlled in part by Russia.

The president said he notified Russia in advance of the operation, but in a break from protocol, did not notify the heads of several congressional oversight committees, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who is leading the impeachment inquiry into Trump.

Trump defended his decision to not notify lawmakers, saying "Washington is a leaking machine."

Pelosi, in a statement, lauded the "heroism" of the U.S. forces who toppled al-Baghdadi, but added: "The House must be briefed on this raid, which the Russians but not top Congressional Leadership were notified of in advance, and on the Administration’s overall strategy in the region."

Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, told CNN’s “State of the Union” the United States should still keep a steady presence in the Syria despite al-Baghdadi's demise.

“We’ve taken something valuable away, but you still have these networks, you still have people who will take the place of anybody we remove, and they continue to work to attack America," Thornberry said. 

Trump, fielding questions from reporters for nearly 45 minutes after his address, suggested al-Baghdadi’s killing carried more weight than the 2011 operation to execute Osama bin Laden that was authorized by President Barack Obama.

“Osama bin Laden was very big, but Osama bin Laden became big with the World Trade Center,” Trump said of the al-Qaida leader who organized the series of Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. “[Al-Baghdadi] is a man who built a whole, as he would like to call it, ‘a country,’ a caliphate, and was trying to do it again.”