(Photo Source: Time.com)

ISIS leader declared dead after compound raid

The leader of ISIS is dead after a weekend raid in Syria, President Trump confirmed at a Sunday morning press conference. U.S. forces raided Abu Bakr al Baghdadi’s compound in a remote region of Syria, where the ISIS leader was living with many others, including at least eleven young children who were rescued in the raid. Baghdadi detonated a suicide vest after he ran into a tunnel to evade U.S. forces, Trump said. He killed three of his children along with himself.

Baghdadi was allegedly the mastermind behind the execution of several Americans in Syria, including journalist James Foley and aid worker Kayla Mueller.

Mohammed Ali Sajet, a member of ISIS and a close associate of Baghdadi, apparently told Iraqi forces where to find the terrorist leader after he was detained for two months. Sajet said Baghdadi was “excellent” at hiding, but recently wanted to move because security forces were closing in on him.

“We didn’t expect this to happen. Even he didn’t expect to be killed due to his security measures,” Sajet told Saudi TV after his capture. “I met him in an area close to the Syrian-Iraqi border. His security was good. They were tending and herding sheep. He was there, hiding underground and there was a tent above him…He was talking about deteriorating security status due to the security forces. He wanted to change his location and didn’t know how to.”

ISIS, which used to control a territory the size of Ohio, has been losing ground recently due to the presence of security forces in the region.