News outlets have been reacting by the bucket load to the confirmation by the president of the United States of America Donald Trump that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a special operation by American troops.
The question swirling in the minds of the uninitiated is who is this man Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi?
Here is what is known publicly about him:
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was the leader of the Islamic State up until his death on Saturday.
He was reportedly born in 1971 in Sammara, a city in Iraq.
His real name was Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim al-Badri.
Peers nicknamed him 'The Believer' because of his dedication to the Islamic religion.
American troops arrested him and took him to jail in Bucca Prison in 2004 over his terrorist activities directed at the US forces.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had at the time found a Sunni militant group whose stated objective was to fight against what its members saw as the US invasion of Iraq.
He joined the ranks of Al Qaeda after gaining his freedom and rose to become the terrorist group's Iraqi branch leader in 2010.
After three years he bailed out of Al Qaeda and formed of an Islamic State caliphate.
In 2014, he made a public declaration of the formation of the caliphate and called on Muslims across the world to show their allegiance to the state.
He was rarely seen in public with his appearances few and far between.