National security adviser Robert O’Brien said on Sunday that the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi marks a “great day” for the U.S. and world.
O’Brien said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he was in the Situation Room as President Trump and officials monitored the military raid during which al-Baghdadi died on Saturday night.
{mosads}At 7:15 p.m., he said, they were notified with “100 percent” confidence that the terrorist leader was dead.
“That was great news for us, great news for the American people, great news for everyone in the world,” O’Brien said.
He also said a DNA sample taken Saturday night matched previous samples of al-Baghdadi’s DNA.
O’Brien would not expand on the details of the raid.
Trump announced earlier Sunday morning that al-Baghdadi had died in a raid by U.S. special operations forces raid on Saturday. No U.S. lives were lost during the mission, he added.
“Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd asked O’Brien if anything should be read into the fact that Trump, during his announcement, thanked Russia first and Kurdish forces last.
O’Brien said nothing should.
He said Russia “is not an ally of the United States” but that at times “our interests overlap.”
The “Kurds played an important role in the operation, and we’re grateful,” he said.