Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi serves as proof that the U.S. will keep fighting to make sure the nation is safe.
“Baghdadi’s demise is further evidence — available for all to see — that the United States will not stop in the pursuit of bringing evil to justice and delivering on our promise to do everything in our power to keep America safe and to bring this scourge to its knees,” Pompeo said in a statement following Trump’s Sunday morning announcement.
Trump said the terrorist leader died in a U.S. military raid Saturday night. No U.S. forces were killed during the operation. {mosads}
Pompeo said the terrorist leader “met the fate that he long-deserved.”
“While there is still work left to do to ensure ISIS’s enduring defeat, Baghdadi’s death follows the path of scores of other ISIS leaders that have been removed from the battlefield and can no longer commit heinous atrocities or spread their vile ideology of hatred to poison and recruit vulnerable minds. His evil acts of beheadings, enslavement of women, rape, torture, and pure brutality follows him to his grave,” Pompeo said.
“This success underscores the importance of our continued D-ISIS mission in Syria and our determination to continue working with our partners in the Global Coalition to pursue ISIS wherever they may be, and ensuring its enduring defeat,” he added.
Trump had announced a few weeks ago that he was pulling troops from northern Syria where they had been fighting alongside Kurdish forces.
The move had been criticized by Democrats and many Republicans.
Trump said Sunday the military raid aimed at al-Baghdadi was a separate operation from his decision to remove troops from northern Syria.