President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that fugitive Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had died in a raid by U.S. special forces in northwest Syria. Here is roundup of the reactions from key foreign leaders.
Baghdadi killed himself during the raid by detonating a suicide vest, Trump said in a televised address from the White House. Here are reactions to the announcement:
FRANCE
French President Emmanuel Macron said the death of Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a US special forces operation in Syria was just a step and the fight must continue to finally defeat the jihadists.
"The death of al-Baghdadi is a hard blow against Daesh (IS) but it is just a stage," Macron wrote on Twitter. "The fight will continue with our partners in the international coalition to ensure that the terror organisation is definitively defeated. It is our priority," he added.
BRITAIN
Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Twitter:
“The death of Baghdadi is an important moment in our fight against terror but the battle against the evil of Daesh is not yet over. We will work with our coalition partners to bring an end to the murderous, barbaric activities of Daesh once and for all.”
TURKEY
President Tayyip Erdogan, on Twitter
“The killing of Daesh’s ringleader marks a turning point in our joint fight against terrorism. Turkey will continue to support anti-terror efforts - as it has done in the past.”
Erdogan added Turkey had paid a heavy price fighting terrorism, including in his list of foes the YPG - Kurdish militia in Syria who were instrumental in fighting with the United States against Islamic State but who Ankara deems terrorists.
IRAQ
Iraqi government statement:
“Following extensive work by a dedicated team for over a year, Iraq’s National Intelligence Service was able to accurately pinpoint the hideout of the terrorist Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi in the Syrian province of Idlib.
“Subsequently, U.S. forces, in coordination with Iraq’s National Intelligence Service, carried out an operation which led to the elimination of the terrorist Al-Baghdadi.
“Iraq’s Armed Forces and intelligence services will continue to work with Iraq’s partners in the @coalition to relentlessly pursue Daesh (Islamic State) terrorists and to defeat their ideology.”
IRAN
Information Minister Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi, tweeted:
“Not a big deal, You just killed your creature” (accusing the United States, its longtime foe, of creating Islamic State)
Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei tweeted:
“The killing of Baghdadi will not end Daesh (Islamic State) and its ideology ... which was created and flourished with the help of regional petrodollars.”
RUSSIA
Major-General Igor Konashenkov, quoted by RIA news agency:
“The Russian Ministry of Defence does not have reliable information on the operation by U.S. servicemen... on yet another ‘elimination’ of former IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.”
Konstantin Kosachyov, chairman of upper house of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, to Interfax news agency:
“... Last respects have been paid to al-Baghdadi at least five times in the past. (Also) countering terrorism is a much more difficult task than the physical destruction of its leaders, even the most irreconcilable.”
ISRAEL
Statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:
“I would like to congratulate President Trump on the impressive achievement that led to the assassination of the head of (Islamic State) al-Baghdadi. This reflects our shared determination, of the United States of America and of all free countries, to fight terror organizations and terrorist states. This achievement is an important milestone, but the campaign is still ahead of us."
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, Reuters)
