Biggest terrorist leaders. He died after entering a deadend tunnel, whimpering and crying and screaming all the way. The compound had been cleared by this time with people either surrendering or being shot and killed. He was a sick and depraved man, and now hes gone. Baghdadi was vicious and violent, and he died in a vicious and violent way, as a coward, running and crying. This raid was impeccable and could only have taken place with the acknowledgment and help of certain other nations and people. I want to thank the nations of russia, turkey, syria and iraq, and i also want to thank the syrian kurds for certain support they were able to give us. We have a team of reporters around the world gathering details on this raid to kill abu baghdadi. Lets start with cnn correspondent barbara starr. Barbara, what are you learning about this raid and how it was carried out . Well, fredricka, this raid was carried out by u. S. Special forces, some of the most elite that are very skilled in these high value target missions, these counterterrorism missions. By all accounts it was upwards of 100 troops coming in by helicopter in the cover of night last night into this compound in northeastern syria, an unusual location. Not where you might expect to find baghdadi. This was more of an al qaeda stronghold, but they got information over the last several weeks, and the president indicated it was about in the last two weeks this they were really able to firm up their plan and decide to go ahead and do it. Listen a little bit more to what defense secretary mark esper had to say about this. The president approved a raid onto the target. The aim was to capture abu bakr a albaghdadi, and if we couldnt cop to capture him, we would kill him. He was called to come out. He refused. He went into a deadend area and he walked into a bombed area and killed himself. Their real skill is surprise stealth. They come in very quietly, very unexpectedly. They have tremendous operational security, and they land and basically land on a target with overwhelming violent sudden force. Thats how they stay alive with surprise and violence and thats how they get their targets. Do you have any idea what kind of evidence will assist in counterterrorism efforts . Good question. The troops were actually on the ground collecting intelligence for about two hours. Thats a very long period of time, so it indicates they had some confidence they would not be met again with opposition forces. Typically they collect everything they can find, laptop, computers, electronic media, papers, anything that might cell phones to look for addresses and phone numbers, anything that would indicate who baghdadi knew, who he met with, who he might have recently communicated with, what was his financial network, what network did he have of operatives that he could call upon to potentially plan and execute further attacks. Its likely to take some time to go through all of it and see exactly what they have, but thats the kind of information that they are looking for. Fred . All right. Barbara starr, thank you so much. So u. S. Forces were able to track down abu baghdadi after months of hunting on the ground in syria. The president credited russia, syria, turkey and iraq, in that order, and then he also said syrian kurds. Nick, the kurds say theyve been gathering intel for months. How vital were they in the success of this operation . Reporter as you said, there was a passing reference by President Trump to the syrian kurds, yet they say, and they said quite early on as details came to light, that they were involved in a joint operation to bring this to light, elaborating that it was actually five months of intelligence gathering that led to this operation today. Its almost troubling as an ally to the United States that it seems it led them to achieving this ultimate task, ultimate objective in the campaign. There were other references to russia, turkey and iraq that were also thanked presumably for allowing air space they control for the u. S. Forces to hit that particular target. But it was a lengthy and sometimes overrevealing statement from President Trump where he indicated he had been in awe of watching all of this around him. He said it was like watching a movie to some degree, and i think in certain terminology, it was detailed, almost crude, as to how Abu Bakr Albaghdadi ran away screaming. Some of the intelligence talked about being gathered in this raid may have already been put to use, unconfirmed here, suggesting that maybe one baghdadis key henchmen would have been spotted. This is part of the operation here, and it puts turkeys confusion to light here. Theyve called the kurdish someone the president gave a green light to, but it seemed that they were very close. Some turkishbacked moderates rebel groups operate there, too. So questions how he came to be there, who was supporting him, who knew he was there, and what this means. The geopolitics have been changing so fast over the past few weeks, fred. Thank you so much. The president gave critical details about the raid in syria. Jeremy, President Trump essentially giving a playbyplay of the operation. He certainly did, fredricka. President trump gathered yesterday in the situation room shortly after 5 00 p. M. To oversee this raid that was designed to kill or capture Abu Bakr Albaghdadi. We know it took weeks of surveillance to get to that point and also the u. S. Had knowledge of certain tunnels in the compound. All of this because the president of the United States told us so. That has raised some concerns, of course, from Certain NationalSecurity Officials who feels that the president may have perhaps disclosed too much, but it did go to the president s desire to really explain to the American Public exactly what went on here. And he did describe things in quite explicit and sometimes vivid detail in the same way that he said watching this raid from the situation room was like watching a movie. The president also sought to describe the death of Abu Bakr Albaghdadi. He ignited his vest, killing himself and the three children. His body was mutilated by the blast. The tunnel had caved in on it in addition. But test results gave certain immediate and totally positive identification. It was him. The thug who tried so hard to intimidate others spent his last moments in utter fear, in total panic and dread, terrified of the American Forces bearing down on him. Reporter and, fredricka, the president also described baghdadi as in terror and crying. He would also lament that terrorist leaders were almost masterminds when they planned these attacks, and the president said they should be referred to as losers. That was Something Else the president was trying to do today. Another thing he was trying to do, fredricka, was put this in a broader framework. He repeatedly described capturing or killing baghdadi as a top priority in the administration, that this was something they had been trying to take care of for years. Certainly they were trying to top this as part of his legacy, fredricka. With al baghdadi dead, what does this mean for isis . Does this cripple the organization, or will another person step in to fill the void . Plus, Democratic Leaders kept in the dark on the raid and demanding a briefing on how this all went down. In fact, some of them found out the worlds most wanted terrorist was dead on television, like you and the rest of the world. Ud. They saw us, they recognized us. 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I still have this car so you can afford to go. I am so proud of you. Thanks. Principal. We can help you plan for that. Start today at principal. Com. Welcome back with this breaking news today. One of the worlds most wanted terrorists now dead. This morning President Trump confirming that isis leader Abu Bakr Albaghdadi was killed after detonating a suicide vest in syria. Baghdadis death is a combination of yearslong hunts after he declared a caliphate in iraq and syria in 2014. Cnn International Correspondent ben wedeman is live for us in beirut. Ben, explain the significance here. Why is al baghdadis death such a big deal . This is bigger than Osama Bin Laden, according to the president. Reporter the difference between Osama Bin Laden and Abu Bakr Baghdadi ran a country, what was essentially a country, iraq and syria. It was the size of Great Britain and ruled more than 12 million people. That state was created very quickly. This was a man who really knew how to run a terrorist organization and turn it into, albeit, a very briefly lived terrorist state. And for him to be eliminated, certainly it does represent an important milestone in the fight against isis. However, even the pentagons Inspector General in august came out with a report that said that between syria and iraq, there are between 14,000 and 18,000 isis fighters still on the loose. Isis still operates through affiliates in west africa, in libya, in egypt sinai peninsula, in afghanistan, in the philippines. It has sleeper cells in europe that have carried out a variety of mass murders, terrorist attacks. Yes, its an important milestone, but nobody is under the impression certainly in this part of the world that isis is history. Isis is diminished, but its still there and its still a very dangerous terrorist organization. Fredricka . Then what about for the region . I mean, for that individual, al baghdadi, what kind of influence did he have on the region, and with his death, what kind of impact does that have . Reporter its important for me to explain why its so noisy behind me. There is a revolution going on in lebanon. There is unrest in iraq. There has been unrest in egypt. There has been a revolution in sudan. There has been a revolution in algeria. The region currently is boiling. Lebanon is teetering on the brink of economic collapse, and it is in these situations that groups like isis can take advantage of the chaos of the power vacuum that is created. And keep in mind here in this part of the world, there is a template that Police States authoritarian regimes have always used. They have crushed the political center. They have terrified the opposition into silence. They have jailed opposition leaders. They have driven others into exile and they have created this dichotomy where the populist either goes with the regime, as distasteful as it may be, or they have the other option is the terrorists. Therefore, that dichotomy still exists in the middle east, and groups like isis, they may change their name, but will be able to exploit the vacuum that is created between authoritarian regimes and the terrorist extremists. Fredricka . All right. Ben wedeman, thank you so much. Really appreciate that. So with the leader of isis gone, what is next for isis . Does al baghdadis death cut the head off the snake, or will someone else simply step in and pick up where he left off . Whats this . Cindy, that colds gonna keep you up all night. And tomorrow, youre gonna be a zombie forget that, im taking a new nighttime cold medicine. Ha theres nothing new. fraid so. New mucinex nightshift cold flu fights my worst symptoms so i can sleep great and wake up human. So, you dont want to be zombie. 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Back with more on todays breaking news on the death of one of the worlds most wanted terrorists. Today President Trump announced that isis leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi was killed by a raid of u. S. Forces overnight. With me, diplomatic editor and gail aklimone. She is the author of ashleys war. Good to see both of you. Ben wedeman talked about al baghdadis reach and influence over essentially taking over our country. So does his death krcripple the idealogy or influence, even . It does not mark a definitive finish to the fight against the Islamic State. Talk to folks and everyone will acknowledge it is much easier to kill a terrorist than it is to sleigh an idealogy and the idea of what the Islamic State represented. They really talked to you about it as a state. Even though this is an Islamic State, President Trump talked about it as a rule. The president vowed to go after skpiisis and other terror. This is what he said. Al baghdadi has been on the run for many years long before i took office. But at my direction, as commander in chief of the United States, we obliterated his caliphate 100 in march of this year. Todays events are another reminder that we will continue to pursue the remaining isis terrorists to their brutal end. That also goes for other terrorist organizations. So, nick, how does the president s decision to pull out u. S. Troops out of syria impact this goal to eliminate the remaining isis terrorists . It perhaps removes the ability of some u. S. Assets, and one would assume these would be more covert assets to move certain parts of the region, and thats limited because this operation was clearly led by intelligence. The president said there were signals intelligence that was then fed up by ontheground verification, if you will. That can be done with partners. But oftentimes the most the best way and the most effective way to get a lot out of partners in the battlefield is to be there closely with them so that they feel that youve got skin in the game, that youre in the fight with them, albeit you can bring fearsome fire power and incredible technology, but they also have to have people who put their necks on the line, if you will, who get that closeup intelligence. It can potentially be their offense. The al qaeda leader that was killed back in 1967, i believe it was jordanian intelligence that helped lead to his killing, and its interesting the president helped pay tribute to that jordanian Fighter Pilot who was so brutally killed on camera by isis. How to be effective and get the best out of partners in the region is to be a stable partner who is close to them. So by pulling out forces, that does create some instability there. This area of idlib and syria is undoubtedly going into turmoil in the future because it is in the crosshairs of both russia and the assad regime in damascus, so there are probably going to be more opportunities created as the situation there becomes more chaotic, as terrorists use communications they might perhaps not otherwise use. There will be more opportunities created and forces on the ground can react more quickly if theyre closer to them. And then, gail, the Kurdish Militia known as the sds played a Critical Role to helped provide intel that led the u. S. Military to al baghdadi. But if you listened to the president earlier and he thanked a number of countris, it was russia, syria, turkey and iraq, and the syrian kurds. Does that add salt to the wounds that the kurds have been feeling rather betrayed by the u. S. Pullout of Northern Syria . I think right now, ive talked to the head of the u. S. Backed forces, right . The sdf was part of a partner source that the u. S. 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