The mother of journalist James Foley, who was beheaded by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s men, has thanked President Donald Trump and U.S. forces for their efforts that lead to the suicide of the former ISIS leader.
Foley said she was “grateful” for the recent death of al-Baghdadi and hoped his death by suicide vest once trapped by U.S. forces would prevent further terror groups from rising.
Foley expressed her concerns over U.S. hostages who remained captive in Syria, encouraging the president to make their safe return home a top priority.
She continued: “I remain concerned about the dozen Americans held hostage in Syria, including Austin Tice and Majd Kamalmaz. And I ask President Trump to make them, and all American hostages, a priority.”
He was beheaded by ISIS extremists on Aug. 19, 2014, in the Raqqa region of Syria and a graphic video of his death was later released online.
He said that al-Baghdadi and his men had “no idea what they were getting into” and that many of them had been terrified when they were captured by U.S. forces on Oct. 26.
Trump said: “In some cases, they were very frightened puppies. In other cases, they were hard core killers. But they killed many, many people. Their murder of innocent Americans, James Foley, Steven, Peter and Kayla Mueller, were especially heinous.”
The president said that capturing or killing al-Baghdadi had been a top national security priority under his administration and added that the former leader had died “like a coward.”
During his speech, Trump noted that no U.S. personnel died in the dangerous nighttime raid carried out by U.S. Special Operations forces in northwestern Syria.
However, a large number of al-Baghdadi’s fighters had been killed alongside their leader. Others surrendered.
The former leader had fled with three children but found himself in a closed-ended tunnel where he detonated an explosive vest he was wearing, killing himself and the children.
Trump later said that he will be speaking with Foley’s family, as well as the families of the other American victims who have been killed by ISIS.