Thread by @jseldin

BREAKING: "Last night the #UnitedStates brought the world's number one terrorist leader to justice
says @POTUS "Abu Bakr al #Baghdadi is dead"

@POTUS "Capturing or killing #Baghdadi has been the top national security priority of my administration" per @POTUS

@POTUS US special ops forces carried out a "dangerous & dangerous nighttime raid in northwestern #Syria & accomplished their mission in grand style" per @POTUS
"The US personnel were incredible. I got to watch much of it"

@POTUS #ISIS leader Abu Bakr al #Baghdadi "died after running into a dead-end tunnel whimpering and crying and screaming all the way" per @POTUS "The compound had been cleared by this time with ppl either surrendering or being shot and killed"

@POTUS .@POTUS says 11 young children were moved out of the house with #Baghdadi and are uninjured

"The only ones remaining were #Baghdadi in the tunnel & he had dragged three of his young children with him. They were led to certain death"

@POTUS #Baghdadi "reached the end of the tunnel as our dogs chased him down" per @POTUS "He ignited his vest killing himself and the 3 children."

"His body was mutilated by the blast"

@POTUS #Baghdadi "reached the end of the tunnel as our dogs chased him down" per @POTUS "He ignited his vest killing himself and the 3 children."

"His body was mutilated by the blast"

@POTUS Test results show "it was him" per @POTUS of #ISIS leader #Baghdad
"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"

@POTUS US raid on #Baghdadi also produced "highly sensitive material and information...much having to do with #ISIS, origins, future plans, things that we very much want" per @POTUS

@POTUS "#Baghdadi's demise demonstrates #America's relentless pursuit of terrorist leaders and our commitment to the enduring defeat of #ISIS and other terrorist organizations" per @POTUS

"Our reach is very long" Trump adds, referencing US killing of #alQaida's Hamza bin Laden

@POTUS "Terrorists who oppress & murder innocent ppl should never sleep soundly" per @POTUS "These savage monsters will not escape their fate & they will not escape the final judgment of God"

@POTUS "#Baghdadi has been on the run for many years, long before I took office" per @POTUS "But at my direction...we obliterated his caliphate 100%"

"Today's events are another reminder that we will continue to pursue the remaining #ISIS terrorists to their brutal end"

@POTUS "#Baghdadi & the losers who worked for him, & losers they are, they had no idea what they were getting into" per @POTUS, describing some of them as "very frightened puppies"

@POTUS Brutal murders and serial atrocities "rank #ISIS among the most depraved organizations [in] the history of our world" per @POTUS, clling #Baghdadi "a sick and depraved man"

"Now he's gone"

@POTUS #Baghdadi "died in a vicious & violent way as a coward, running and crying" per @POTUS

@POTUS "I want to thank the nations of #Russia, #Turkey #Syria and #Iraq" says @POTUS "And I also want to thank the Syrian #Kurds for certain support they were able to give us"

"This was a very very dangerous mission"

@POTUS .@POTUS thanks "the great intelligence professionals who helped make this very successful journey possible"

"You are the very best there is" Trump says to US military

@POTUS "Last night was a great night for the #UnitedStates & the world. A brutal killer, one who has caused so much hardship & death has violently been eliminated" @POTUS says of #Baghdadi "He will never again harm another innocent man woman or child"

@POTUS "He died like a dog. He died like a coward" @POTUS says of #ISIS leader Abu Bakr al #Baghdadi

@POTUS "We've had him [#Baghdadi] under surveillance for a couple of weeks" per @POTUS, taking questions from reporters "We knew a little bit about where he was going, where he was heading"

US canceled other planned raids after #Baghdadi changed his plans

@POTUS .@POTUS says main door to the #Baghdadi compound was "booby trapped"

@POTUS "As though you were watching a movie" says @POTUS of watching the raid that killed #ISIS leader #Baghdadi go down

@POTUS "#Russia treated us great. We had a flyover certain #Russia areas, Russia-held areas. #Iraq was excellent" per @POTUS

"They didn't know what we were doing & where we were going exactly but the #ISIS fighters are hated as much by Russia and some of these other countries"

@POTUS "They gave us some information" @POTUS says of #SDF #Kurd contribution to #Baghdadi mission "It turned out to be helpful"

@POTUS "#Turkey, we dealt with them, they knew we were going in. We flew over some territory" per @POTUS "They were terrific, no problem"

"They could start shooting and then we will take them out..."

@POTUS "We met with gunfire coming in" per @POTUS of #Baghdadi raid "But it was local gunfire...That gunfire was immediately terminated"

@POTUS #Baghdadi "He died like a dog. He died like a coward" @POTUS repeats "He was whimpering, screaming & crying"

"I think it's something that should be brought out so that his followers & all of these young kids that want to leave various countries, they should see how he died"

@POTUS "I've been looking for him for 3 years... I started getting some very positive feedback about a month ago" per @POTUS "We had some incredible intelligence officials who did a great job."

"That's what they should be focused on" he adds

@POTUS "We had him scoped" per @POTUS, saying #Baghdadi op had been in the works for 2 weeks

@POTUS "You're basing it on technology more than anything else" @POTUS says of tracking down #ISIS leader #Baghdad

Adds other #ISIS officials also killed

@POTUS "We did tell them, 'We think you're going to be very happy,'" @POTUS says of what US told #Russia before the mission

@POTUS "We had tremendous airpower" says @POTUS of resources brought to bear in the #Baghdadi op

@POTUS "The pullout [from #Syria] had nothing to do with this" per @POTUS

@POTUS #ISIS leader #Baghdadi had gone to #Idlib province as part of effort to rebuild the caliphate, per @POTUS

"That's where he was trying to rebuild from because that was the place that made most sense if you're looking to rebuild"

@POTUS "We landed in a very friendly port in a very friendly country" @POTUS says of location from which #Baghdadi mission was launched and where US troops returned

@POTUS "We're out" @POTUS says of #Syria in general "But we are leaving soldiers to secure the oil... We may have to fight for the oil. It's okay. Maybe somebody else wants the oil in which case they have a hell of a fight"

@POTUS "We're out" @POTUS says of #Syria in general "But we are leaving soldiers to secure the oil... We may have to fight for the oil. It's okay. Maybe somebody else wants the oil in which case they have a hell of a fight"

@POTUS "It stops #ISIS" @POTUS says of securing the #Syria|n oil "Because ISIS got tremendous wealth from this oil"

@POTUS Back to #Syria - "I tell you who loves us being there, #Russia and #China" says @POTUS

"Because while they build their militaries, we're depleting our military there"

@POTUS "The European nations have been a tremendous disappoint" per @POTUS, saying they won't take back #ISIS #foreignfighters

"We're not going pay tens of billions of dollars" to take care of the #foreignfighters

@POTUS "I knew all about this for three days" @POTUS says of #Baghdadi raid, adding only one US military dog was injured...

@POTUS #Baghdadi, "He was the last one out" per @POTUS "His people had either been killed, which there were many, or came out..."

Some #ISIS fighters/officials captured in the raid

@POTUS Two of #Baghdadi's wives were killed while still wearing suicide vests, per @POTUS

@POTUS "We know the successors" to #ISIS leader Abu Bakr al #Baghdadi, says @POTUS "And we already have them in out sights..."

@POTUS "More dead than alive" @POTUS of what happened to the #ISIS fighters, adding a small number have been captured

Children being left in supervision of adults...

@POTUS "We had our own intel. We got very little help. We didn't need very much help" per @POTUS of #Baghdadi raid "When we use out intelligence correctly, what we can do is incredible"

@POTUS "He was scared out of his mind" @POTUS tells reporters of #Baghdadi's death

@POTUS "He didn't want to die" @POTUS says of #ISIS' #Baghdadi

"There will be new people emerge, but this was the worst...probably in certain ways the smartest"

@POTUS "I don't have a #Syria pull-out" per @POTUS "I just don't want to guard #Turkey and #Syria for the rest of our lives...it's very expensive. It's very dangerous"

"Now I will secure the oil..."