BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on the alleged death of Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a U.S.-led operation in northern Syria (all times local):
12:15 p.m.
Vice President Mike Pence is disclosing more details about the U.S. military raid that killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Syria.
Pence says that by Thursday afternoon, he and President Donald Trump learned that there was “a high probability” that al-Baghdadi would be at his compound in Syria’s Idlib province.
Pence tells CBS’ “Face the Nation” that Trump directed commanders to come up with military options and present them to him on Friday morning.
Pence says that by Saturday morning, “we received the actionable intelligence” that allowed the operation that Trump had approved to go ahead.
And it was on Sunday morning when Trump told the nation that the raid had resulted in al-Baghdadi’s death.
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12:05 p.m.
The head of the foreign affairs committee in Russia’s upper house of parliament says the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi would be welcome news, but he’s playing down its possible impact in the fight against terrorism.
Konstantin Kosachev is pointing out that President Donald Trump’s announcement Sunday in Washington that al-Baghdadi was killed in a U.S. military raid in Syria isn’t the first time the leader’s death has been reported.
Kosachev says “countering terrorism is a much more difficult task than the physical destruction of its leaders, even the most implacable.”
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10:30 a.m.
Some information is emerging about how the United States might have been able to track Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
A senior Iraqi intelligence official says that a few months ago, an Iraqi aide to al-Baghdadi was killed in western Iraq by a U.S. airstrike. The official says the aide’s wife was arrested in the operation and handed over by the Americans to Iraqi authorities.
The official says the wife ended up being a key source of information on al-Baghdadi’s whereabouts and that through her, the Iraqis ultimately were able to pass along to the United States coordinates on al-Baghdadi.
A second Iraqi security official says al-Baghdadi’s brother-in-law was recently arrested by the Iraqis and also helped with information about Abu Bakr’s whereabouts
The officials weren’t authorized to publicly discuss intelligence operations and spoke on condition of anonymity.
10a.m.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is criticizing the White House for failing to notify congressional leaders before the U.S. raid in Syria that President Donald Trump says killed the leader of the Islamic State group.
She notes that the U.S. let Russia know the raid was in the works.
Trump said U.S. military helicopters flew over territory controlled by Russian and Syrian forces before landing at Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s compound. He also said he kept lawmakers out of the loop because he was fearful of leaks.
Pelosi says the Trump administration must brief Congress on the operation and on the administration’s overall strategy for the Mideast.
Before the 2011 raid in Pakistan that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, the Obama administration did give advance word to the top two Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate as well as the four leaders of the congressional intelligence committees.
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9:25 a.m.
President Donald Trump says Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead after a U.S. military operation in Syria targeted the Islamic State group leader.
Trump says in a statement to the nation from the White House’s Diplomatic Room that “al-Baghdadi is dead” — fulfilling the top national security priority of his administration.
He says no U.S. personnel were lost in the mission.
Al-Baghdadi presided over IS’s global jihad and became arguably the world’s most wanted man.
Trump say Al-Baghdadi detonated suicide vest during US raid, killing himself and three of his children.
The announcement comes as Trump has been on the receiving end of bipartisan criticism in Washington following the recent pullback of U.S. troops from northeastern Syria. Critics fear that move will allow the militant group to regain strength after it had lost vast stretches of territory it had once controlled
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4p.m.
The commander of the Syrian Kurdish-led forces says five months of joint intelligence cooperation with the U.S.-led coalition led to the killing of the leader of the Islamic State group.
Mazloum Abdi said in a tweet Sunday that the reported killing of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi took place in a joint operation following “cooperation on the ground and accurate monitoring” for five months. He called it a “successful and historic” joint intelligence work with the U.S.
The U.S. raid with helicopters took place in the Barisha area north of Idlib city a few kilometers from the Turkish border.
The Kurdish-led forces cooperated with the U.S.-coalition for at least four years to fight IS in Syria until they declared military victory against the group in March.
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3:40 p.m.
A senior Turkish official says “to the best of my knowledge” Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi arrived at a location in Syria 48 hours prior to the U.S. military raid that is believed to have targeted the Islamic State group leader.
The Turkish official said in a written statement Sunday that there has been “close coordination” among relevant parties and the Turkish military had advanced knowledge of the raid.
In a tweet earlier, the Turkish army said it had “information exchanged and coordination” with U.S. military authorities prior to the operation but did not elaborate.
The official added: “I can neither confirm nor deny that any intelligence was shared to facilitate last night’s operation.”
The U.S. raid with helicopters took place in the Barisha area north of Idlib city a few kilometers from the Turkish border.
— By Zeynep Bilginsoy
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7:45 a.m.
The leader of the Islamic State militant network is believed dead after being targeted by a U.S. military raid in Syria.
A U.S. official told The Associated Press late Saturday that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was targeted in Syria’s Idlib province. The official said confirmation that the IS chief was killed in an explosion is pending.
President Donald Trump teased a major announcement, tweeting Saturday night that “Something very big has just happened!”
A White House spokesman, Hogan Gidley, would say only that the president would be making a “major statement” at 9 a.m. EDT Sunday.