Trump suggests impeachment probe was reason he kept ISIS raid secret
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wasn't informed of raid, calls for briefing of top congressional leaders
U.S. President Donald Trump is suggesting the House Democrats' impeachment probe contributed to his decision to withhold notice to congressional leaders before Saturday's raid on Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Trump told reporters Monday he didn't inform the so-called "Gang of Eight" because "Adam Schiff is the biggest leaker in Washington."
The group includes the top Democrat and Republican in both chambers and the chairs and ranking members of the intelligence committees.
Schiff, the Democrat chairing the House intelligence committee, is playing a central role in the impeachment inquiry.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wasn't informed of the raid and called Sunday for a briefing for top congressional leadership.
Trump's decision not to inform leaders is the latest example of the White House keeping Congress in the dark on foreign policy. U.S. officials, though, did provide a heads-up to Russia and other nations with military forces in the region. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News that he discussed the operation Saturday night with his Russian counterpart.
Watch: Aerial footage shows aftermath of raid on ISIS leader:
Trump's move this month to withdraw most U.S. forces from Syria — and in the process clear the way for a Turkish assault on Kurdish fighters allied with the U.S. — came as a shock to Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill.
Al-Baghdadi 'died like a coward'
Al-Baghdadi, the shadowy leader of ISIS, presided over its global jihad and became arguably the world's most-wanted man. He led ISIS for the last five years, presiding over its ascendancy as it cultivated a reputation for beheadings and attracted hundreds of thousands of followers to a sprawling and self-styled caliphate in Iraq and Syria.
He remained among the few ISIS commanders still at large despite multiple claims in recent years about his death and even as his so-called caliphate dramatically shrank, with many supporters who joined the cause imprisoned.
He was targeted in Syria's northwestern Idlib province, in the Barisha area, late Saturday. Trump announced the raid Sunday at the White House, saying the ISIS leader detonated a suicide vest during the operation, killing himself and three of his children.
Al-Baghdadi "died like a coward, crying, whimpering and screaming" as he ran to hide inside a tunnel, with U.S. troops closing in on him, Trump said Sunday. He said two wives of the ISIS leader, "both wearing vests," were also found dead in the rubble of the tunnel.
On Monday, U.S. Secretary of Defence Mark Esper and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, provided an update at the Pentagon on what they dubbed a multi-year, multi-agency effort to bring down Al-Baghdadi.
Asked about Trump's description of Al-Baghdadi's death, Milley said he did not know the source of the president's description of him "whimpering and screaming," but said he assumed those details came from military leaders on the ground.
Video and images from the operation are being declassified, Milley added.
No U.S. service personnel were killed in the operation, Esper said, and two adult males were taken into U.S. custody. Neither Esper nor Milley would elaborate on the men in custody or on the material they said was seized during the operation.
Listen to The Rise and Fall of ISIS Leader al-Baghdadi on Front Burner:
The operation's success could prove a major boost for Trump. The recent pullback of U.S. troops he ordered from northeastern Syria raised a storm of bipartisan criticism in Washington that the militant group could regain strength, after it had lost vast stretches of territory it had once controlled.
During an event in Chicago Monday, Trump called Al-Baghdadi " a sick and depraved man" who should have been killed years ago.
WATCH | The National's story on U.S. military decision to stay in Syria after death of ISIS leader:
With files from CBC News and Reuters