Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, ISIS Leader Known for His Brutality, Is Dead at 48
Most of the world learned of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in July 2014, when he mounted the pulpit of a mosque in Iraq to declare himself the head of a growing terrorist organization. via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images President Trump announced the death of al-Baghdadi, who transformed the Islamic State into a global terrorist network that conquered territory the size of Britain and directed horrific attacks in the West. By Rukmini Callimachi and Falih Hassan Oct. 27, 2019 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the cunning and enigmatic black-clad leader of the Islamic State who transformed a flagging insurgency into a global terrorist network that drew tens of thousands of recruits from 100 countries, has died at 48. His death was announced on Sunday by President Trump, who said al-Baghdadi detonated a suicide vest during a raid this weekend in northwestern Syria by the United States Special Forces. Mr Trump said preliminary tests had confirmed his identity. There was no immedia...