Russia offered guarded praise on Monday after President Donald Trump announced that U.S. forces had killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, but world leaders warned that the fight against the militant group was not over yet.
Trump said on Sunday that Baghdadi had died “whimpering and crying” in a raid by U.S. special forces in Syria, fulfilling his top national security goal.
Baghdadi, who had led the jihadist group since 2010, killed himself by detonating a suicide vest after fleeing into a dead-end tunnel as U.S. forces closed in, Trump said in a televised address from the White House.
“He was a sick and depraved man and now he’s gone,” said Trump. “He died … whimpering and crying and screaming.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to say if the United States had told Russia about the operation in advance.
But he added: “If this information is confirmed we can talk about a serious contribution by the president of the United States to the fight against international terrorism.”
World leaders and security officials welcomed Baghdadi’s death but said the campaign against Islamic State was not over, with so-called lone wolves likely to seek revenge.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Baghdadi’s death was a major blow against Islamic State but “the fight continues to finally defeat this terrorist organization”
.Source: REUERS
