WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The US military has carried out a military operation aimed at ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, but they have not yet confirmed his death in the operation, press reports citing US officials said on Sunday.
A senior Pentagon official told Newsweek magazine that ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was the target of a covert military operation in the Syrian province of Idlib.
The reporter, "Sky News Arabia" in the US capital, Washington, US media as saying that US President Donald Trump ratified a military operation targeting Baghdadi, and there is strong information that he was killed.
"The United States has carried out an operation against the leader of ISIS, but it is not yet clear whether the operation has actually succeeded," a US official was quoted as saying by Reuters.
The magazine quoted "Newsweek" US military official, who was briefed on the results of the operation as saying that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed during the military operation that targeted him.
US media have reported that the Pentagon has told the White House that they have great confidence that the target is "high value" and that an investigation is underway to confirm the target.
The reports coincided with a brief statement by the White House spokesman that President Trump will make a "very important" statement this afternoon, noting that the speech will be at 13:00 GMT.
Before that, Trump wrote in a tweet on his Twitter account: "Something very big has just happened!", Without giving further details.