Confirming the death of Islamic State chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, US President Donald Trump on Sunday said, "al-Baghdadi died like a dog, died like a coward." Trump's statement came while he was addressing a press conference where he made a reference to the operation conducted by the special forces of the United States, the Syrian province of Idlib. Trump further said, "al-Baghdadi died inside a tunnel with three of his children, whimpering and crying and screaming all the way."
The DNA tests proved it was al-Baghdadi, Trump said.
Trump also thanked many countries including Russia and Turkey for their indirect co-operation in intelligence that helped the military operation leading to the elimination of the Daesh (IS) chief.
"We knew we were travelling in dangerous territory, going in and going out was not easy" he added.
The US President further said that from his first day at the White House, he wanted to get hold of Baghdadi.
Several ISIS fighters and companions of Baghdadi were killed, including two women wearing suicide vests and three children. Trump would not provide a specific number of casualties, only describing those targeted on the scene as "more dead than alive." Eleven children were moved out of the house and are uninjured, the President said.
Trump told reporters Baghdadi was under surveillance for a couple of weeks and that two to three planned missions were scrapped before the successful one was launched.
The US flew over certain Russian airspace during the mission, he said.
Earlier in the day, President Trump without divulging details had tweeted that "something very big has just happened."
Following the tweet, the White House had announced that Trump is scheduled to make a major announcement on Sunday at 9 am (local time).
US Special Operation Commandos on Saturday carried out a risky raid in northwestern Syria against Baghdadi's hideouts in the Idlib province.
US defence officials on Sunday said that final confirmation regarding the death of IS terrorist would come only after the DNA and biometric tests are conducted.
Baghdadi, the most notorious IS leader, had been in hiding for the last five years.
He last appeared in 2014 during a sermon at the Great Mosque in Mosul.
The United States had earlier announced a reward of USD 25 million for information leading to Baghdadi's death or arrest.
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