Jim Mattis commended the American troops who followed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi “to the ends of the earth” to kill the terrorist leader.
On Saturday, U.S. special operations forces raided a compound in northern Syria and killed Baghdadi after he had been one of the most wanted men on the planet for years.
Mattis, who led the U.S. military in the Middle East before becoming defense secretary for the first half of Trump’s presidency, claimed the mission to kill Baghdadi exemplified the theme of the American military.
“We killed him,” Mattis said Sunday. “That’s a reality. I think the theme for the military is: We’ll follow you to the ends of the earth, and we’ll find you and kill you.”
Trump announced Baghdadi’s death on Sunday and explained that the terrorist died a coward.
[Related: Dead end: Inside the two-hour Delta Force raid that killed ISIS leader Baghdadi]
“He died after running into a dead-end tunnel, whimpering and crying and screaming all the way,” Trump said.
Trump and Mattis have had several political disagreements since the former general left the president’s administration.
Mattis has criticized Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from northeastern Syria, prompting the president to call him “the world’s most overrated general.”
