Washington, DC - "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

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.