“Today the fugitive leader of ISIS in Iraq was killed. He was relentlessly hunted down by our intrepid warfighters,” said President Donald Trump in a late Friday Truth Social post. “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!”
U.S. Central Command said in a Friday press release that the people killed were chief of operations and the Delegated Committee Emir Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifai – who goes by the alias “Abu Khadijah” –and an unidentified ISIS operative. Abu Khadijah was the “Global ISIS #2 leader,” per the command.
“As the Emir of ISIS’ most senior decision-making body, Abu Khadijah maintained responsibility for operations, logistics, and planning conducted by ISIS globally, and directs a significant portion of finance for the group’s global organization,” the press release explained.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani of Iraq said in a Friday X post that “he was considered one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world.”
U.S. Central Command forces worked in cooperation with Iraqi Intelligence and Security Forces to conduct the precision airstrike in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, that killed Abu Khadija, the command said. Following the strike, CENTCOM and Iraqi forces found both ISIS operatives dead, wearing unexploded “suicide vests” and in possession of multiple weapons, the command added.
Abu Khadijah was identified through a DNA match. During a previous raid where he narrowly escaped, those in pursuit of the ISIS leader obtained a DNA sample.
“Abu Khadijah was one of the most important ISIS members in the entire global ISIS organization. We will continue to kill terrorists and dismantle their organizations that threaten our homeland and U.S., allied and partner personnel in the region and beyond,” said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, commander, U.S. Central Command.
“The Iraqis continue their remarkable victories against the forces of darkness and terrorism,” said al-Sudani in his X post.
ISIS is a Salafi-jihadist group, according to the National Counterterrorism Center. That means that they are part of the conservative Salafi movement in Islam and believe in religiously-sanctioned warfare, as explained by the Brookings Institute. The group has conducted terrorist attacks worldwide that have resulted in thousand killed or injured, the terrorism center said.
Trump announced in February that he had ordered precision airstrikes against members of ISIS. Last November, Audacy reported on a former pizza shop employee attempting to help the group here in the U.S.