Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Iraqi jihadist who rose from obscurity to declare himself "caliph" of all Muslims as the leader of Islamic State, has died in a raid by U.S. special forces in northwest Syria.
U.S. President Donald Trump said in a televised address from the White House that Baghdadi killed himself during the raid by igniting a suicide vest. Test results from the aftermath of the raid had positively identified Baghdadi, he said.
Baghdadi had long been a target for U.S. and regional security forces trying to eliminate Islamic State, even as they reclaimed most of the territory the group once held.