Syrian President says US Operation to Kill Baghdadi is No Different than Hollywood

In an interview with the French magazine Paris Match published on Wednesday, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad confirmed his sceptical stance on the destruction of Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi by US special forces, also quipping at President Trump’s words of thanks to Damascus for its alleged contribution to the operation.

When asked whether the Syrian government really gave the US information on al-Baghdadi’s whereabouts, Assad said that he “always laughs when this question is raised, because the more important question which should be asked is: was al-Baghdadi really killed or not?”

Wondering whether “this ‘fantastic play’ staged by the Americans took place in reality”, Assad did not mince words when revealing why Trump decided to thank him for allegedly adding to al-Baghdadi’s elimination.

“It’s one of Trump’s cute jokes. It’s [nothing but] a joke,” the Syrian President noted.

The interview comes a few weeks after Assad told the Syria TV news network that the US operation to kill al-Baghdadi was little more than a trick, because US politics “is no different from Hollywood; it relies on mere imagination, not even science fiction”.