A senior Islamic State (ISIS) leader has been killed in an operation led by the Iraqi National Intelligence Service alongside the US-led coalition, according to Iraqi officials and the US military. Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifa, also known as “Abu Khadijah,” led the terror network’s most senior decision-making body, the US Central Command forces (CENTCOM) reported. Abu Khadijah was responsible for operations, logistics, and planning conducted by ISIS globally and directed a large portion of the group’s finances.
CENTCOM’s commander, General Michael E. Kurilla, said: “Abu Khadijah was one of the most important ISIS members in the entire global ISIS organisation. We will continue to kill terrorists and dismantle their organizations that threaten our homeland and US, allied and partner personnel in the region and beyond.” Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said Abu Khadija was one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world.
He said on X: “The Iraqis continue their impressive victories over the forces of darkness and terrorism.”
A clip of the reportedly deadly airstrike targeting the IS leader, carried out on Thursday, was shared by CENTCOM, and shows a missile hitting a moving target, before the eruption of an explosion.
The “ISIS number 2” leader was found dead alongside one other IS operative, CENTCOM reported. Both were wearing unexploded “suicide vests” and had multiple weapons.
CENTCOM and Iraqi forces said to have identified Abu Khadijah through a DNA match from DNA obtained from a previous raid, during which he narrowly escaped.
On his Truth Social platform, US President Donald Trump said: “His miserable life was terminated, along with another member of ISIS, in coordination with the Iraqi Government and the Kurdish Regional Government. PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH!”
ISIS, also known as the “caliphate”, once controlled 88,000 square kilometres (34,000 square miles) of territory, spanning from north-eastern Syria across northern Iraq, imposing its brutal rule on nearly eight million people.
Iraq declared ISIS defeated in December 2017, and by 2019, the group had lost its final stronghold. However, it remains active as a loose terror network, occasionally launching attacks on Iraq’s army and police forces.
The announcement comes as Syria’s interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani visited Iraq, where he claimed his government was ready to cooperate in the fight against remnants of IS.
But the instability following the collapse of the of the brutal but iron-fisted regime of the former Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad may allow ISIS to expand, according to some US officials.