Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi killed in US raid, says Donald Trump – latest updates | World news

Asked about the US withdrawal from Syria, Trump says: “I don’t want to guard Turkey and Syria for the rest of our lives”.

He adds: “I will secure the oil that happens to be in a certain part, but there’s tremendous money involved.” Trump says that Iraq discriminates against the US “despite all we’ve done” when it comes to oil leases.

Trump returns to paying tribute to the US dog that was injured in the operation. “The canine, a beautiful dog, a talented dog, was injured and brought back,” he says.

He says he and his team were gathered in the situation room at 5pm yesterday. The lift-off started moments later. He says that there were shots fired at the US helicopters as they were travelling towards the site and that the helicopters shot back.

They conducted an on-site DNA test and brought body parts back with them. He says that positive identification of Baghdadi was made about 15 minutes later.

Trump said that the European nations had been a tremendous disappointment for not taking back captured Isis fighters. “My people called a lot and said take your Isis fighters …,” he says. He singles out France, Germany and the UK.

Trump says the US tax payer isn’t going to pay to look after other countries’ Isis fighters.

The decision to pull US troops out of Syria was not linked to this operation, says Trump.

The president sent his tweet last night (saying “Something very big has just happened!”) once he knew the mission had been successful and that the US personnel involved had landed safely, he says. Trump says he wanted to let journalists know that there would be a big announcement today, so they weren’t “out playing golf, or playing tennis, or otherwise indisposed”.

He says that Baghdadi’s followers should be told how he died. “He didn’t die a hero, he died a coward,” says Trump. “Crying, whimpering and screaming and bringing three kids with him.”

The operation started two weeks ago, says the president.

He says that many of Baghdadi’s team were killed and that the exact number would be confirmed in the coming days. Trump says the US lost no personnel in the operation, despite being greeted with “fire power like you wouldn’t believe”. He adds that a US dog was injured.

Trump says the US had been following Baghdadi for some weeks.

He says that it was dangerous for the US to fly over other people’s territory, but they had cooperation from other countries. “We flew very, very low and very fast.”

“Russia treated us great… Iraq was excellent. We really had great cooperation,” he says. Trump says Turkey knew they were “going in”.

“We met with gun fire coming in, but that was local gun fire,” he says.

Baghdadi was “a sick and depraved man,” says Trump, “and now he’s gone”. He was “vicious and violent and he died in a vicious and violent way”.

Trump thanks Russia, Turkey, Syria and Iraq and the Syrian Kurds for “certain support they were able to give us”. He thanks “the great intelligence professionals” and the armed forces.

He died like a dog. He died like a coward. The world is now a much safer place. God bless America.

Trump says that under his direction the US has “obliterated his caliphate” 100%. He describes Baghdadi and his supporters as losers.

They had no idea what they were getting into – in some cases they were very frightened puppies and in other cases they were hardcore killers.

Trump says that Baghdadi died “whimpering and crying and screaming” after running into a dead end tunnel.

He says 11 young children were moved out of the house and are uninjured, but that Baghdadi brought three of his young children with him as he tried to escape down the tunnel. He then ignited a suicide vest, also killing his three children.

Test results gave “certain and immediate identification”, says Trump. “It was him.”

President Donald Trump has just started speaking. He says last night the US brought the “world’s greatest terrorist leader to justice”. “Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead,” he says.

President Trump is about to give a press conference at the White House. You can follow it live above or on YouTube here.

Here is a useful explainer from the Guardian’s international correspondent, Michael Safi.