International
Top Islamic State Leader K!lled in Joint US-Iraqi Operation
- Senior IS leader Abu Khadijah k!lled in joint Iraq-US operation.
- US airstrike in Al Anbar province targeted key Islamic State figure.
- DNA match confirmed identity of high-ranking IS operative.
A senior leader of the Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq and Syria has been k!lled in a joint operation by Iraq’s national intelligence service and US-led coalition forces, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced.
Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifai, also known as Abu Khadijah, was described as “one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world.” The US Central Command (Centcom) confirmed that he was targeted in a precision airstrike in Iraq’s western Al Anbar province on Thursday.
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Rifai was the head of IS’s highest decision-making body, overseeing global operations, logistics, and financing for the group. US President Donald Trump said he was “relentlessly hunted down” and praised the coordination between US forces, the Iraqi government, and the Kurdish Regional Government.
Centcom reported that Rifai was found dead alongside another IS operative, both wearing unexploded suicide vests and carrying multiple weapons. Identification was confirmed through DNA analysis from an earlier raid where he had narrowly escaped.
General Michael Erik Kurilla emphasized that the US will continue targeting terrorist leaders and dismantling networks that pose threats to the US and its allies.
Although Iraq declared victory over IS in 2017 and the group lost its final stronghold in 2019, IS militants and sleeper cells remain active, occasionally launching attacks against Iraqi security forces.
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