The leaders of Islamic states in Iraq and Syria have been killed, the Iraqi prime minister announced on Friday.
Abdallah Maki Mothle al-Rifai, or “Abu Kadija,” was killed in a US-led operation by members of the Iraqi National Intelligence Agency and a US-led coalition, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shea al-Sudani, said in a statement.
The Prime Minister described Al-Rifai as “one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and in the world.”
US President Donald Trump responded to news from his social media platform Truth Social, saying Al-Rifai’s “a miserable life is over.”
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Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shea Al Sudani described al-Rifai as “one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and in the world.” (AP)
“The leader of the ISIS fugitives in Iraq was killed today,” Trump wrote Friday night. “He was mercilessly cornered by our brave fighters. His miserable life was concluded with another member of ISIS, working with the Iraqi government and the Kurdish local government.”
“Peace through power!” the president added.
In a statement, the US Central Command said it had collaborated with Iraq’s intelligence reporting agency and security forces to launch an airstrike in Al Anbar, Iraq, killing “Global ISIS #2 Leader, Global Operations Chief, Commissioner Emil – Abdallah McKimsrif Al-Rif, Alias ​​Abkhadji, Another ISIS.”
US President Donald Trump responded by saying that Al Refay’s “a miserable life is over.” (Getty Images)
“As the chief of ISIS’s most senior decision-making body, Abuqadija maintains responsibility for the operations, logistics and planning that ISIS has implemented worldwide, directing a significant portion of the financial aspects of the group’s global organization,” Centcom said.
Islamic State/Iraq/Syria: Masked Islamic State soldiers posing holding an ISIL banner somewhere in the deserts of Iraq or Syria. ISIL promotion image, 2015. (Photos of History/Universal Image Group via Getty Images)
After the strike, the US and Iraqi forces moved to the strike location, finding targets of dead ISIS, wearing their own misfire “suicide vests” and carrying multiple weapons, Centcom said.
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Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaibani on the left will speak at a press conference with his Iraqi counterpart, Huuad Hussein, following their meeting held in Baghdad, Iraq, on Friday March 2025. (AP)
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The US and Iraqi forces were able to identify Al-rifai using DNA collected in previous raids that he fled narrowly.
“Abu Kadija was one of the most important ISIS members across the global ISIS organization. We will continue to kill terrorists and dismantle organizations that threaten our hometown, our US, our region and our future allies and partner staff.”
