Trump says Baghdadi's top replacement also killed
Last updated on: 29 October,2019 08:26 pm
Trump did not identify the person or give more detail on how he was killed.
(AFP) – US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the person likely to be first in line to replace Islamic State s slain leader 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 he was killed.
A top Kurdish official said Baghdadi s spokesman and right hand man, Abu Hassan al-Muhajir, was killed Sunday in a separate raid in the village of Ain Al-Baydah.
It was unclear if that was the person Trump was referring to in his tweet.
Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Kurdish-led SDF, had said on Twitter that al-Muhajir was targeted in what he described as a "coordinated operation between SDF intelligence and the US army."
That raid was carried out a day after US commandos stormed Baghdadi s hideout in northwestern Syria.
The Islamic State founder detonated a suicide vest, killing himself and three children, as he was being chased into a dead end tunnel, according to the US account.
A Kurdish official on Monday said the SDF provided crucial intelligence from a source who infiltrated Baghdadi s house, bringing out underwear that provided positive DNA identification.