The United States on Saturday said ISIS Global Operations leader Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifai, also known as “Abu Khadijah”, was eliminated during an operation conducted in coordination with Iraqi Intelligence and Security Forces, in Iraq's Al Anbar Province.

The US Central Command also released a video of an airstrike which claimed to have killed the ISIS leader.

The Central Command said another ISIS operative was also killed in the airstrike.

"After the strike, CENTCOM and Iraqi forces moved to the strike site and found both dead ISIS operatives," the Central Command said in a statement.

The US Central Command said both terrorists were wearing unexploded “suicide vests” and had multiple weapons.

The Central Command and Iraqi forces were able to identify Abu Khadijah through a DNA match from DNA collected on a previous raid where Abu Khadijah narrowly escaped.

Iraq PM confirms

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani also confirmed the death of the ISIS leader and wrote on X: "The Iraqi National Intelligence Service, with support and coordination from the Joint Operations Command and the International Coalition Forces, killed the terrorist Abdullah Maki Musleh al-Rifai, known as Abu Khadija."

He described the ISIS leader as one of the most 'dangerous terrorists' in Iraq and in the world.

Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifai

As the Emir of ISIS’ most senior decision-making body, Abu Khadijah maintained responsibility for operations, logistics, and planning conducted by ISIS globally, and directed a significant portion of finance for the group’s global organization, Central Command said.

ISIS Presence

The US State Department released their counter terrorism report of 2023 where it said the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) maintained an enduring global enterprise, promoting a large-scale terrorism campaign across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. 

Despite key leadership losses including the deaths of two ISIS caliphs in Syria in 2022 and one in 2023, ISIS maintained a significant underground operational structure and conducted terrorist operations throughout Iraq and Syria. 

An estimated 9,000 ISIS fighters, including 1,600 Iraqis and 1,800 fighters from countries outside Syria and Iraq remained in detention facilities controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).  Additionally, 17,000 Syrians, 20,500 Iraqis, and roughly 9,000 third-country nationals from more than 60 countries remain in al-Hol and Roj displaced persons camps in northeast Syria.