Back to the Real Salt Lake Newsfeed

U.S. official: IS leader believed dead in US military assault

Washington • Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the shadowy leader of the Islamic State group who presided over its global jihad and became arguably the world’s most wanted man, is believed dead after being targeted by a U.S. military raid in Syria.

A U.S. official told The Associated Press late Saturday that al-Baghdadi was targeted in Syria’s Idlib province. The official said confirmation that the IS chief was killed in an explosion is pending. No other details were available. The official was not authorized to discuss the strike and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

President Donald Trump teased a major announcement, tweeting Saturday night that "Something very big has just happened!