Washington/Baghdad, March 15 — US forces, in coordination with Iraqi and Kurdish security agencies, killed Islamic State (ISIS) leader Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rufayi, also known as Abu Khadija, officials confirmed on Friday.
Former US President Donald Trump reacted to the killing, posting on Truth Social: “Today the fugitive leader of ISIS in Iraq was killed. He was relentlessly hunted down by our intrepid warfighters. 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!”
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani called Abu Khadija “one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world” and hailed the operation as a “significant security achievement.”
Abu Khadija, designated as the so-called governor of Iraq and Syria for ISIS, also oversaw the group’s foreign operations. The US sanctioned him in 2023.
The US Central Command shared a video of the strike on X, confirming that both militants were wearing unexploded suicide vests. Officials identified Abu Khadija through a DNA match.
This follows an October 24 operation in which Iraqi forces killed nine ISIS commanders, including Jassim al-Mazrouei Abu Abdel Qader, the previous “governor” of Iraq for ISIS.
In September, the US and Iraq announced plans to end their decade-long military mission, gradually withdrawing American troops.
