New Delhi:
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said 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. The development comes days after Trump announced that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died "like a dog and like a coward".
Speaking from the White House on Sunday morning, President Trump said the American K9 dogs chased down the ISIS leader to a dead-end tunnel along with three children and he was left with no option but to blew up his suicide vest.
"Last night was a great night for the United States and for the world. A brutal killer, one who has caused so much hardship and death, has violently been eliminated. He will never again harm another innocent man, woman or child. He died like a dog. He died like a coward. The world is now a much safer place," he said.
Trump said the US Special Operations forces conducted the "daring and dangerous nighttime raid and "accomplished their mission in grand style" in taking out the ISIS chief, who is said to be 48 years old.
"He (Baghdadi) reached the end of the tunnel, as our dogs chased him down. He died in his vest, killing himself. And the three children. His body was mutilated by the blast. The tunnel had caved in on it, in addition," Trump said in a televised address to the nation.
Trump said he, along with Vice President Mike Pence and top military leadership, watched the entire operation live "better than a movie" from the situation room of the White House.
Baghdadi "was a sick and depraved man. And now he's gone. Baghdadi was vicious and violent. He died in a vicious and violent way as a coward, running, and crying," the President told reporters, adding that he had been looking for Baghdadi for three years.
"He was the founder and leader of ISIS. The most ruthless and violent terror organization anywhere in the world. The United States has been searching for Baghdadi for many years. Capturing or killing Baghdadi has been the top national security priority of my administration," he said.
