Esper Hails Victory For US, World With al-Baghdadi Killing

Sec. of Defense Mark Esper on Sunday hailed the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi during an overnight raid led by U.S. military forces in Syria as “a great day” for the United States and “the world.”

In remarks on ABC News’ “This Week,” Esper said he was in the Situation Room watching the raid as it happened.

“This is a great day for America, this is a great day for the world,” he said.

“The president made a bold decision to launch this raid,” he added. 

“We destroyed the physical caliphate and now al-Baghdadi is dead. It’s a great day.”

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