Senior Leader of Islamic State Killed in Iraq in Coordination Operation

Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifa, a prominent leader of Islamic State, was killed in a coalition operation commanded by the United States and Iraq.

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has declared that Iraqi national intelligence forces and the US-led coalition had jointly executed Abu Khadija, also known as Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifa, a senior Islamic State (IS) leader.

As the leader of IS’s highest ranking decision-making body, al-Rifa was referred to as “one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world.” He was in charge of IS operations, logistics, planning, and funding worldwide, according to US Central Command (Centcom).

The operation was conducted on Thursday in the western province of Al Anbar, Iraq. On X (previously Twitter), the US Central Command posted what looked to be a video of the strike. Al-Rifa was slain with another IS member; both were said to have been carrying several guns and wearing unexploded suicide vests.

Using DNA taken from a prior operation in which he had “narrowly escaped,” Centcom verified his identity.

“His miserable life was terminated, along with another member of ISIS, in coordination with the Iraqi Government and the Kurdish Regional Government,” said US President Donald Trump in a post on his Truth Social platform, praising the operation. STRENGTH THROUGH PEACE!

The importance of the operation was underlined by US Central Command Chief Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, who stated: “Abu Khadija was one of the most important IS members in the entire global IS organization.” We will keep eliminating terrorists and their organizations that pose a threat to our country and the lives of US, regional, and international partners.

In the past, IS ruled over millions of people in Syria and Iraq, controlling a sizable portion of the country. Despite Iraq’s 2017 declaration of victory over IS and the group’s 2019 loss of its final stronghold, militants and sleeper cells still operate and occasionally target Iraqi security forces.