Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the terrorist group ISIS, is believed to be dead after U.S. forces carried out an operation in Syria, NBC News reported, citing two American officials.
The operation was carried out around midnight in Syria. The U.S. was conducting forensic tests to confirm that Baghdadi was among the dead, according to NBC News, but officials believe he was killed.
The mission came after the U.S. received actionable intelligence regarding Baghdadi in recent days. Various media outlets had previously reported that officials believe Baghdadi was killed, CNBC reports.
The news came hours after the White House said late Saturday night that President Donald Trump would be making a “major statement” at 9 a.m. ET Sunday. It wasn’t immediately clear what the president would discuss.
The White House statement came more than an hour after Trump tweeted that “Something very big has just happened!” without disclosing further details.
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