Schumer Statement On Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi Raid

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer today released the following statement after reports that President Trump announced that U.S. special forces carried a raid in Northwestern Syria, resulting in the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi:

“The death of al-Baghdadi is great victory for the safety of our country and the safety of our allies and partners abroad. All Americans especially salute the special operations forces who executed this mission, the intelligence community whose work helped make this mission possible, and our foreign allies and partners, particularly the Syrian Kurds.

“Despite this great victory, we must not confuse the death of this evil man with the total defeat of ISIS. There are still potentially hundreds of ISIS prisoners and sympathizers who have escaped in recent weeks. We still need a plan for how we will deal with the escaped prisoners and ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS.

“New Yorkers know all too well the destruction a small group of terrorists thousands of miles overseas can cause from so far away. I look forward to receiving a briefing about this raid and the plan to deal with the escaped ISIS prisoners.” 

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