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The Latest: Islamic State leader buried at sea, US says

Tags: Government and politics, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
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FILE - This file image made from video posted on a militant website April 29, 2019, purports to show the leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, being interviewed by his group's Al-Furqan media outlet. The IS erupted from the chaos of Syria and Iraq's conflicts and swiftly did what no Islamic militant group had done before, conquering a giant stretch of territory and declaring itself a "caliphate." U.S. officials said late Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019 that al-Baghdadi was the target of an American raid in Syria and may have died in an explosion. (Al-Furqan media via AP, File)
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan, left, and FBI Director Christopher Wray, center, and acting Director of the National Counterterrorism Center at the office of the Director of National Intelligence Russell Travers, right, wait to testify before the House Homeland Security Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019, during a hearing on domestic terrorism. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
In this Oct. 24, 2019, photo, released by the U.S. Army Reserve, U.S. Airmen check their manifest for military equipment to be loaded onto a cargo plane at Kobani Landing Zone (KLZ), Syria. Pivoting from the dramatic killing of the Islamic State group's leader, the Pentagon is increasing U.S. efforts to protect Syria's oil fields from the extremist group as well as from Syria itself and the country's Russian allies. It's a new high-stakes mission even as American troops are withdrawn from other parts of the country.(U.S. Army Reserve photo by Staff Sgt. Joshua Hammock via AP)
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan, left, FBI Director Christopher Wray, second from left, acting Director of the National Counterterrorism Center at the office of the Director of National Intelligence Russell Travers, second from right, and Department of Homeland Security undersecretary for intelligence and analysis David J. Glawe, right, wait to testify before the House Homeland Security Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019, during a hearing on domestic terrorism. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan, left, and FBI Director Christopher Wray, center, and acting Director of the National Counterterrorism Center at the office of the Director of National Intelligence Russell Travers, right, wait to testify before the House Homeland Security Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019, during a hearing on domestic terrorism. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
FBI Director Christopher Wray, flanked by Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan, left, and acting Director of the National Counterterrorism Center at the office of the Director of National Intelligence Russell Travers, right, testifies before the House Homeland Security Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019, during a hearing on domestic terrorism. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

FILE - This file image made from video posted on a militant website April 29, 2019, purports to show the leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, being interviewed by his group's Al-Furqan media outlet. The IS erupted from the chaos of Syria and Iraq's conflicts and swiftly did what no Islamic militant group had done before, conquering a giant stretch of territory and declaring itself a "caliphate." U.S. officials said late Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019 that al-Baghdadi was the target of an American raid in Syria and may have died in an explosion. (Al-Furqan media via AP, File)

WASHINGTON, DC – The Latest on the United States and the Islamic State (all times local):

5:10 p.m.

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The head of United States Central Command says Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was buried at sea after a weekend raid on his compound.

Gen. Frank McKenzie told reporters Wednesday that al-Baghdadi died after he exploded a suicide vest just before U.S. troops were going to capture him.

McKenzie says two children were killed in the explosion set off by the Islamic State leader.

The U.S. said earlier that three children were killed.

U.S. forces raided the compound in northwestern Syria on Saturday. There were no U.S. casualties.

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1 p.m.

A U.S. counterterrorism official says he expects a new Islamic State leader to emerge after the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and warns that the extremist group's planning of major attacks probably will go on as before.

"The ideology continues, the resonance continues, and that is a strategic concern for us," Russell Travers, the acting director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said at a congressional hearing on global threats.

Travers says the killing of IS leader al-Baghdadi by U.S. forces in Syria on Saturday was a "significant" development. But he says that IS, which once controlled a large swath of Iraq and Syria, has a "deep bench" of figures who could replace al-Baghdadi.

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