US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the person likely to be first in line to replace the slain leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS), Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, has also been “terminated”.
“Just confirmed that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi‘s number one replacement has been terminated by American troops. Most likely would have taken the top spot – Now he is also Dead!” Trump tweeted.
Trump did not identify the person or give more detail on how the individual was killed.
Separately on Monday, the United States confirmed the killing of Abu al-Hassan al-Muhajir, ISIL spokesman and a high-ranking figure within the group.
Al-Baghdadi was killed in a night-time US military operation in northwest Syria, Trump confirmed on Sunday.
Since the operation, world leaders and regional analysts have warned that even with al-Baghdadi’s death, ISIL would remain a threat worldwide.
Under al-Baghdadi’s command, ISIL became one of the most brutal armed groups in modern history and, at its peak, its self-declared caliphate covered territory across Iraq and Syria roughly equivalent to the size of the United Kingdom.
Source:aljazeera.com
