…World reacts

Here are world reactions to the announcement:

Iran: Information Minister Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi, on Twitter: “Not a big deal, You just killed your creature” (accusing the United States, its longtime foe, of creating Islamic State)

Russia: Major-General Igor Konashenkov, quoted by RIA news agency:  “The Russian Ministry of Defense does not have reliable information on the operation by U.S. servicemen… on yet another ‘elimination’ of former IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.”  Konstantin Kosachyov, chairman of upper house of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, to Interfax news agency:

France: French Defense Minister Florence Parly on Twitter:  “Baghdadi: early retirement for a terrorist, but not for his organization. I congratulate our American allies with this operation. My thoughts thoughts today are for all the victims of the madness of Bagdhadi and the criminals who have followed him.”

Britain: Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Twitter:  “The death of Baghdadi is an important moment in our fight against terror but the battle against the evil of Daesh (Islamic State) is not yet over. We will work with our coalition partners to bring an end to the murderous, barbaric activities of Daesh once and for all.”

Turkey:  Senior aide to President Tayyip Erdogan, Fahrettin Altun, in statement to Reuters:  “Turkey was proud to help the United States, our NATO ally, bring a notorious terrorist to justice …

We remember today Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s civilian victims and our military heroes, who lost their lives to protect the world from Daesh (Islamic State) terrorists.   Israel: Statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “I would like to congratulate President Trump on the impressive achievement that led to the assassination of the head of (Islamic State) al-Baghdadi. This reflects our shared determination, of the United States of America and of all free countries, to fight terror organizations and terrorist states. This achievement is an important milestone, but the campaign is still ahead of us.”

Bahrain: IS leader’s death is fatal blow to group: Bahrain Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa said on Sunday on his Twitter account that the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was a fatal blow to the group.