Press Release

ADL's Task Force on Middle East Minorities Issues Statement Regarding Death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

New York, NY, October 28, 2019 ... ADL's (the Anti-Defamation League) Task Force on Middle East Minorities issued the following statement today following the killing of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi:

We extend our sincere appreciation to members of the U.S. armed forces and intelligence community who were involved in the successful operation targeting Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Under al-Baghdadi’s leadership, the Islamic State preached an extremist and violent ideology that resulted in a horrific campaign of murder, enslavement and rape targeting religious and ethnic minorities throughout Syria and Iraq, and inspired others to commit terror attacks around the world. Unfortunately, those same minority groups in Syria are still threatened by violence from both the Islamic State and other military actors, and it is therefore imperative that the U.S. and others do more to ensure they are not targeted.