Nati Harnik/AP
Ben Sasse in Fremont, Nebraska, June 5, 2013.
- Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska gave a brief statement after the Islamic State announced the successor to leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was killed in a US operation in Syria.
- "We killed the last murderous bastard who ran ISIS," Sasse said in a brief statement.
- "Let's go get the next one."
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Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska gave a brief statement after the Islamic State announced the successor to leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was killed in a US operation in northwest Syria last weekend.
"We killed the last murderous bastard who ran ISIS," Sasse, a member of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee, said in a statement. "Let's go get the next one."
On Thursday, an ISIS media channel on Telegram's messaging service announced that Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi would become the next leader after al-Baghdadi was killed during the brazen US raid, according to the BBC.
Al-Baghdadi, who fetched a $25 million bounty, detonated his suicide vest as he was chased by US forces and military dogs in a tunnel, according to US officials. Two children also died after al-Baghdadi detonated his vest.
ISIS reportedly also confirmed in audio recordings that the group's spokesman, Abu al-Hasan al-Muhajir, was killed in a subsequent US-Kurdish operation the day after the al-Baghdadi raid.
It was unclear if al-Qurayshi is a real name or a pseudonym, BBC reported. ISIS revealed few details of its new leader, and only claimed that he previously fought against Western forces.
Following the news of al-Baghdadi's death, Sasse hailed it was victory for the US and thanked President Donald Trump for his decision to approve the mission.
"It's tremendous news that the US has ended Baghdadi's bloody jihad," Sasse said on Sunday. "The president made the right call to take out this bloodthirsty monster who led ISIS as it raped and pillaged its way through Iraq and Syria."
"As Americans celebrate this victory, we must remain clear-eyed that this is no time to let off the gas: Baghdadi is gone but another animal will take his place as ISIS works to regroup," he added.
Sasse, who previously was an outspoken critic of Trump's presidency, has mostly stayed silent after he kicked off his 2020 re-election campaign and received Trump's endorsement. Trump's endorsement of the 47-year-old senator is a stark shift from 2016, when Trump described him as "totally ineffective" and claimed "the great State of Nebraska can do much better than [Ben Sasse]."