Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi: Who was the Isis leader and why is his death important?

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Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Isis, has been killed during a US military raid in northern Syria, Donald Trump has has announced.

In a press conference on Sunday, the president described how the terrorist leader was chased into a tunnel where he detonated an explosives vest, killing himself and three of his children.

Although al-Baghdadi’s death had been reported last night by US media, incorrect rumours of his death have occurred on a number of occasions.

The president teased the news on Saturday night, tweeting without explanation: “Something very big has just happened!”

This is what we know about the Isis leader and why his death is significant.

Al-Baghdadi is believed to have been born in the Iraqi city of Samarra in 1971.

However, little is known about his life and background before Isis became internationally known, with only two publicly available photos of him reportedly available before 2014.

During the US invasion of Iraq, al-Baghdadi was detained by US forces in February 2004 and sent to Bucca prison after founding a militant Sunni group to fight American troops.

Shortly after his release from prison, he joined al-Qaeda’s Iraqi division and rose to become its leader in 2010.

Three years later, after expanding into Syria, he announced the formation of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis) and broke away from al-Qaeda.

In 2014, al-Baghdadi made a rare public appearance to declare himself the caliph (leader) of the global Muslim community – a claim that was rejected by almost all Islamic religious groups.

He has rarely been seen since, but has infrequently resurfaced in audio tapes and videos posted online.

Due to the secrecy around al-Baghdadi’s life and whereabouts, there have been multiple incorrect reports of his death or serious injury.

He was reportedly severely injured in an airstrike on 18 March 2015 in a part of Mosul, Iraq.

In 2016, several Middle Eastern news outlets incorrectly reported al-Baghdadi had been killed in a US airstrike in Raqqa, Syria.

One year later, Russia’s military claimed it had killed the Isis leader, with Iran claiming it had confirmed his death.

However, James Mattis, then US defence secretary, cast doubt on those claims and said he believed al-Baghdadi was still alive.

Isis surrendered its final territorial stronghold in Syria earlier this year, prompting Mr Trump to say the terrorist group had been defeated.

Despite these losses, there have been concerns Isis could re-emerge after the withdrawal of American troops from the region, with tens of thousands of Isis fighters and their families in makeshift prisons in northeastern Syria.

The death of al-Baghdadi is important because he acted as a symbol of the group’s supposed legitimacy as well as its leader – for example, he has claimed he came from the same tribe as the prophet Muhammad.

It is hoped that his death will be a significant blow to the terrorist group and prevent Isis from returning as a major threat.