For years, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ruled a brutal international terror organisation that killed thousands of innocents and held a territory greater than the size of Britain.

In the end, he died like many of his victims: cornered and afraid.

The Isis leader was killed during a raid by US special forces in Syria after being chased “crying and screaming” into a dead-end tunnel, where he ignited an explosives vest.

US president Donald Trump confirmed the death in a dramatic Sunday morning address to the nation, in which he gave a grisly account of the terror leader’s final moments.

“The thug who tried so hard to intimidate others spent his last moments in utter fear, in total panic and dread, terrified of the American forces bearing down upon him,” Mr Trump said.

“He was a sick and depraved man, and now he’s gone,” he said. “He died like a dog, he died like a coward.”

Timeline of the Isis caliphate Show all 19 1 /19 Timeline of the Isis caliphate Timeline of the Isis caliphate ISIS began as a group by the merging of extremist organisations ISI and al-Nusra in 2013. Following clashes, Syrian rebels captured the ISIS headquarters in Aleppo in January 2014 (pictured) AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi declared the creation of a caliphate in Mosul on 27 June 2014 Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis conquered the Kurdish towns of Sinjar and Zumar in August 2014, forcing thousands of civilians to flee their homes. Pictured are a group of Yazidi Kurds who have fled Rex Timeline of the Isis caliphate On September 2 2014 Isis released a video depicting the beheading of US journalist Steven Sotloff. On September 13 they released another video showing the execution of British aid worker David Haines Timeline of the Isis caliphate The US launched its first airstrikes against Isis in Syria on 23 September 2014. Here Lt Gen William C Mayville Jnr speaks about the bombing campaign in the wake of the first strikes Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis militants sit atop a hill planted with their flag in the Syrian town of Kobani on 6 October 2014. They had been advancing on Kobani since mid-September and by now was in control of the city’s entrance and exit points AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Residents of the border village of Alizar keep guard day and night as they wait in fear of mortar fire from Isis who have occupied the nearby city of Kobani Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Smoke rises following a US airstrike on Kobani, 28 October 2014 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate YPG fighters raise a flag as they reclaim Kobani on 26 January 2015 VOA Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis seized the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra on 20 May 2015. This image show the city from above days after its capture by Isis Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Kurdish forces are stationed on a hill above the town of Sinjar as smoke rises following US airstrikes on 12 November 2015 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Kurdish forces enter Sinjar after seizing it from Isis control on 13 November 2015 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Iraqi government forces make the victory sign as they retake the city of Fallujah from ISIS on 26 June 2016 Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Iraqi forces battle with Isis for the city of Mosul on 30 June 2017 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Members of the Iraqi federal police raise flags in Mosul on 8 July 2017. On the following day, Iraqi prime minister Haider Al Abadi declares victory over Isis in Mosul Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Members of Syrian Democratic Forces celebrate in Al-Naim square after taking back the city of Raqqa from Isis. US-backed Syrian forces declare victory over Isis in Raqqa on 20 October 2017 after a four-month long campaign Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Female fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces celebrate in Al-Naim Square after taking back the city of Raqqa from Isis. US-backed Syrian forces declare victory over Isis in Raqqa on 20 October 2017 after a four-month long campaign AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Trucks full of women and children arrive from the last Isis-held areas in Deir ez-Zor, Syria in January 2019 They were among the last civilians to be living in the ISIS caliphate, by this time reduced to just two small villages in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor Richard Hall/The Independent Timeline of the Isis caliphate Zikia Ibrahim, 28, with her two-year-old son and 8-month-old daughter, after fleeing the Isis caliphate, on Saturday 26 January 2019 Richard Hall/The Independent

Baghdadi’s death, coming seven months after the fall of the Isis caliphate, is likely to deal a significant blow to the terror group.

The jihadi leader, who became emir of the Islamic State of Iraq group in 2010, took it from underground insurgency to a proto-state that ruled over around 10 million people. The once mighty caliphate has all but crumbled, and thousands of his fighters have been killed or languish in jail cells.

Since the caliphate’s collapse earlier this year, western intelligence agencies had speculated that Baghdadi had gone into hiding somewhere in the desert regions of Iraq or Syria. Despite being the most wanted terrorist in the world, he still managed to release occasional audio and video messages to Isis supporters.

Donald Trump watched a crystal-clear video feed of the operation from the White House Situation Room (Shealah Craighead/The White House) (The White House)

Speaking from the White House, Mr Trump said Baghdadi met his end when the tunnel he had retreated into caved in due to the explosion caused by his suicide vest. He killed three of his own children with him.

The president added that Baghdadi’s “mutilated” body was retrieved and tested, providing “certain, immediate and totally positive” identification that it was the terrorist the US has hunted for so long.

Baghdadi has been rumoured to have been killed a number of times. In 2017, Russia said it was investigating whether one of its airstrikes on the city of Raqqa killed him and 300 other fighters. Other reports suggested he had been incapacitated by a US-led coalition strike.

News of the raid first emerged around midnight on Saturday when locals in northern Syria reported hearing gunfire and helicopters near the town of Barisha, just five miles from the Turkish border.

While rumours swirled that Baghdadi had been killed, the details of the operation were withheld so they could be announced by Mr Trump.

Mr Trump said the US began to receive intelligence on the whereabouts of Baghdadi around a month ago. Intelligence officials were able to put the location under surveillance two weeks ago, allowing the president to authorise the raid three days ago.

US military personnel took off in eight helicopters from an unidentified military base in the Middle East.

As they approached the compound where Baghdadi was thought to be hiding, the helicopters came under gunfire but were able to land safely.

They quickly cleared the compound, “with people either surrendering or being shot and killed”, said Mr Trump. Eleven children were removed, uninjured, and taken into care by a third party whom the president declined to name. US soldiers captured and later imprisoned several Islamic State fighters.

Baghdadi fled into a tunnel complex, dragging three of his young children with him and pursued by US soldiers. When they demanded he surrender, he refused, and detonated his belt.

Civilians flee Isis’s last enclave in Baghouz as Syrian Democratic Forces liberated the village in February (AFP/Getty)

Boris Johnson said: “The death of Baghdadi is an important moment in our fight against terror but the battle against the evil of Daesh is not yet over. We will work with our coalition partners to bring an end to the murderous, barbaric activities of Daesh once and for all.”

In the hours after the raid, there were conflicting reports about who and what information paved the way for the operation.

Iraq’s intelligence service said it had provided the US-led anti-Isis coalition with the exact coordinates of Baghdadi’s location, paving the way for the raid that reportedly killed him.

The agency learned of Baghdadi’s location from documents found at a secret location in Iraq’s western desert after arresting an Iraqi man and woman from within his “inner circle”, an Iraqi intelligence official told Reuters.

“We have been constantly coordinating with the CIA, providing valuable information that the Iraqi National Intelligence Service has on Baghdadi’s movements and place of hiding,” the official said.

Mr Trump thanked a number of countries for their assistance in the raid, including Turkey, Russia, Syria and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which he said provided intelligence. The UK military was not believed to be involved in the operation.

Baghdadi’s alleged death comes at a time when many feared Isis was on the verge of a resurgence. A military operation by Turkey against Kurdish forces in the northeast has caused mass displacement and chaos, and led to a reduction in anti-Isis operations.

The group will now undergo a hunt to replace one of the world’s most deadly jihadi leaders.

Baghdadi was not just the Islamic State’s military chief, but a self-proclaimed spiritual and religious leader. He was key to the group’s brutality and its propaganda appeal, which brought followers from all around the world.

Born in the Iraqi city of Samarra in 1971 and radicalised by the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, he claimed to have descended from the Prophet Muhammad. His background in religious instruction gave him legitimacy in the eyes of his jihadi followers.