Under a joint operation by Iraqi security forces and the US-led coalition, Abu Khadija—also known as Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rufayi—the leader of the terrorist organisation Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS)—has been murdered.
Confirming the development on Friday, March 14, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said Abu Khadija was “one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world.”
Operating in Iraq’s western Al Anbar province, US Central Command (CENTCOM) soldiers executed a precise airstrike on March 13 in cooperation with Iraqi intelligence and security forces.
Targeting Abu Khadija, second-in-command for ISIS worldwide and a major player in the group’s operations, logistics, and financial network, the strike effectively hit this person.
Announcing the announcement on his Truth Social platform, US President Donald Trump said the ISIS leader was “relentlessly hunted down by our intrepid warfighters.” He then said, “His terrible existence was terminated, along with another member of ISIS, in conjunction with the Iraqi Government and the Kurdish Regional Government. PEACE THROUGH STRONG!”
CENTCOM also issued a statement on X (previously Twitter), attesting to DNA analysis’s identification of the ISIS leader. The CIA said that Abu Khadija and another ISIS agent were highly armed at the time of their deaths and were discovered sporting unexploded suicide vests.
