Step by step: this was the dramatic military operation that killed the leader of ISIS al-Baghdadi

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Washington (CNN) - US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday morning, through a televised speech at the White House, that the "number one terrorist leader in the world" is dead.

ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi "exploded" when he was cornered by US forces that executed a two-hour night operation at the al-Baghdadi complex, located in northern Syria, Trump said by providing a detailed mission report.

“It was a great night for the United States and for the world. A cruel murderer, one that caused so many difficulties and deaths, was violently eliminated, ”the president added.

The death of al-Baghdadi marks the end of a human hunt that lasted for years to find one of the world's most wanted terrorists and the man who declared the so-called Islamic caliphate in Iraq and Syria in 2014.

This is the most significant announcement about the death of a terrorist leader since then President Barack Obama revealed that al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden had been shot down by the U.S. Navy's Special Operations Forces during a dramatic nighttime speech May 2011.

“This is a devastating blow. It is not only its leader, it is also its founder. He was an inspiring boss in many ways. He formed ISIS in 2014, led to establish the physical caliphate throughout the region, so it is a great blow for them, ”Defense Secretary Mark Esper explained to CNN Jake Tapper on Sunday.

Trump's announcement on Sunday is highlighted in his own right. Just last night, the president anticipated on Twitter that "something very big just happened!" And in contrast to Obama's serene speech to the nation about Bin Laden, Trump's carefree appearance before the cameras was plagued with frightful scene descriptions (such as "his body was mutilated by the explosion"). In addition, he openly mocked the terrorist leader, saying he died "whining, crying and screaming all the way."

How the operation was developed

The secret operation began around 5 pm on Saturday, when eight helicopters carrying US elite equipment, including Delta Force operators, flew for exactly one hour and ten minutes over "very, very dangerous territory" to the complex, he said. Trump Other multiple American planes and ships also participated in the mission.

Some of the US forces also emerged from several places within Iraq, according to a US official.

“We fly very, very low and very, very fast. It was a very dangerous part of the mission. Like entering and leaving. We wanted an identical route, we took an identical route, ”Trump told reporters this Sunday while providing a detailed account of the secret mission.

When they were in transit, the helicopters encountered local shots. US aircraft returned fire and eliminated the threat, Trump continued.

After arriving at the complex, US troops broke a wall to prevent them from being victims of a plot and that was when "hell broke loose," the president added.

While clearing the complex, US forces killed a "large number" of ISIS fighters during a shooting in which they suffered no casualties, according to Trump.

At least two ISIS fighters were captured and 11 children are in custody. Two of al-Baghdadi's wives died during the operation and their suicide vests did not explode.

In the end, al-Baghdadi, who also wore a suicide vest, took refuge in a “dead-end” tunnel with three children.

“He reached the end of the tunnel, while our dogs chased him. He activated his vest, killing himself and the three children. His body was mutilated by the explosion. The tunnel also collapsed, ”Trump said.

DNA tests that confirmed al-Baghdadi's identity began "approximately 15 minutes after he died" and US teams on the ground "recovered body parts," sources told CNN.

The president also indicated that US forces obtained "highly sensitive material and information from the raid, which have a lot to do with ISIS: origins, future plans, things we really want."

“The raid was successful. We take out our troops. We had two minor casualties and two minor injuries from our soldiers, but a very successful and impeccable operation, ”Esper told Jake Tapper of CNN this Sunday.

How the location of Bagdadi was discovered

Although the military operation was executed for two hours on Saturday night, al-Baghdadi was under surveillance for a couple of weeks, Trump told reporters. He also added that two or three planned missions were discarded before the one that would be successful was launched.

Mazloum Abdi, the commander-in-chief of Kurdish forces in Syria, said in a tweet that intelligence operations for the US military incursion into Syria that killed al-Baghdadi began five months ago.

The CIA finally located al-Baghdadi and shared that information with the Department of Defense, sources told CNN.

Trump and Vice President Mike Pence were notified of the possible location of al-Baghdadi "earlier this week" and on Thursday they were informed that there was a high probability that he was in the complex.

That was when the president ordered the military commanders to begin developing specific options, which were presented on Friday, according to Pence.

“We knew a little where he was going, where he was going. We had very good information that he was going to go somewhere else. He did not leave. Two or three efforts were canceled because he decided to change his mind, constantly changing his mind. And finally we saw that he was here, ”Trump said.

“In this case, we knew it was there, but you can never be 100% sure because you are relying on technology more than anything else. But we thought it was there and then we had a confirmation. ”

In an interview with ABC this Sunday, Esper also offered additional details related to the timing of decision making.

"Well, the stars began to line up some time ago and in the last two weeks, a week or something like that, the operating forces - which were one of several options available to the president - began to rehearse, practice and do everything. what was related to the objective, ”he said.

"And it wasn't until Thursday and then Friday that the president chose his option and gave us the green light to proceed as we did yesterday," added Esper.

But the decision to move forward with the mission was not made until Saturday morning, when the White House received feasible intelligence, Pence said.

Robert O'Brien, National Security Advisor for the White House, said Sunday that the military operation is named after American Kayla Mueller, who was kidnapped by ISIS and killed in 2015.

Trump gives the green light

Actions began to take place behind the scenes in the hours before the operation, while US intelligence and military officials rushed to prepare before President Pence, Esper, Joint Chief of Staff Mark Milley and other military officers They met in the Situation Room around 5 pm on Saturday, just before the helicopters took off.

From there, Trump said he observed the raid in real time, a moment that was captured in an image published by the White House this Sunday and shows Trump surrounded by senior military officials.

While the operation seems to have been led by the Pentagon, the director of the CIA, Gina Haspel, and the acting director of National Intelligence, Joe Maguire, were also quite involved throughout the process and were aware of the events that took place on Saturday despite not being present in the Situation Room at the time of the raid, CNN was informed.

A spokesman for the director of National Intelligence said Maguire was “fully aware and committed to planning. For the operation itself, it was out of town due to a pre-established commitment, but he observed it with the CENTCOM commander. ”

Haspel would have been monitoring from the CIA headquarters and in contact with the Situation Room, similar to how former CIA director Leon Panetta was positioned during the operation that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in 2011 .

The president thanked Maguire and Haspel for calling them by name while answering journalists' questions this Sunday.

US officials kept secret the details related to the mission before it was executed and did not notify the key Democrats in Congress that it was being carried out.

The only clue that something would have happened came in the form of a cryptic tweet posted by Trump at 9:23 p.m. on Saturday, when most of Washington was focused on the World Baseball Series that was held just a few miles from the White House, saying: "Something big just happened."

On Sunday Trump said that some foreign nations, including Russia and Turkey, were notified in advance that the United States was launching an operation, but they were not informed of the details of the mission as such or who the objective was.

“Russia treated us very well. It was open. We had a flight over certain areas of Russia, areas controlled by Russia. Russia was excellent. Iraq was excellent. We really had great cooperation, ”the president told reporters this Sunday.

“Turkey… we deal with them. They knew we were going to enter. We fly over some territory. They were great. There were no problems, ”he added.

Ryan Browne, Alex Marquardt, Barbara Starr and Maegan Vázquez of CNN contributed the information in this report.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Islamic StateISIS. Antiterrorist operation Syria Terrorism