Five years after the killing of Osama bin Laden, CIA Chief John Brennan said on Sunday that he acknowledges the "great impact" taking out the leader of Islamic State group would have.
According to Yahoo, US special forces killed Al-Qaeda founder bin Laden in Pakistan on May 2011. Now, the CIA chief said that even Al-Qaeda diminished to be a threat, the Islamic State proves that it was not just an organization but rather, a phenomenon happening. Brennan added "We have destroyed a large part of Al-Qaeda. It's not completely eliminated. So we have to stay focused on what it can do. Now, with the new phenomenon of Islamic State, this is going to challenge us for years to come."
Daily Mail reported Brennan's answer when he was asked if taking out the current leader of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, from his throne would also be a top priority such as that with bin Laden was a direct one. "He is important, and we will destroy ISIL; I have no doubt in my mind. We have to remove the leadership that directs the organization to carry out these horrific attacks." ISIL is the alternate acronym for the Islamic State extremists.
I24 News published that taking out Baghdadi would create a 'great impact' to the organization to the extent that it will be felt by everyone in the IS. However, Brennan is still focused on seeing the organization for what it is - a phenomenon. He also pointed out how much the group is spreading from Syria, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria and other countries. Nonetheless, he assured they are " going to have remain very focused on destroying all elements of the organization."
Meanwhile, the CIA live-tweeted the raid on bin Laden as if it were happening Sunday. "On 3:39 pm EDT - Osama Bin Ladin found on third floor and killed #UBLRaid," one of the tweets said. They've tweeted several updates including the President of the United States and other high - ranking US officials in the Situation Room during that time.
