ISIS leader and most wanted terrorist Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been killed in a special ops raid conducted by US troops in Syria, international media is reporting.
The raid which killed the ISIS chief was reportedly conducted on Saturday and authorised by US President Donald Trump a week in advance.
US Army officials told Newsweek that Baghdadi was the target of a top-secret raid carried out in Syria's Idlib province.
The official also said that Baghdadi was killed in the raid. Another Pentagon source told the American weekly that the department has "High Confidence" that the high-value target killed during the raid was indeed Baghdadi, further verification is underway, the report said.
Idlib province of Syria where the raid was carried out is controlled by Syrian militias including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham - the former Nusra Front- which clashed with ISIS in recent years.
The final nod was given to the special ops raid after the command received 'actionable intelligence' after constant surveillance for some time.
Trump tweeted Sunday morning from his official handle -- "Something very big has just happened!"
White House Spokesperson Hogan Gidley has announced that Trump will make a 'major statement' at 9 am EST (06:30 pm IST).
Also Read | Timeline of the rise and fall of the Islamic State group
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