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A joint Iraq-U.S. operation killed a leader of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, according to Washington and Baghdad.
Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rufay’i, also known as Abu Khadija, was responsible for Islamic State operations, logistics and planning and directed “a significant portion of finance for the group’s global organization,” the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement Friday.
He was killed alongside one other IS operative in a “precision airstrike” in Iraq’s western Al Anbar province, CENTCOM said.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said Khadija was considered “one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world.” Khadija was killed by Iraq security forces and U.S. central command forces, Sudani said on X on Friday.
Islamic State seized large swathes Syria and northern Iraq in 2014. While Iraq declared it had been defeated in 2017, the jihadist network has remained active, with an IS group claiming responsibility for a deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall last year.
In his post on X, Sudani hailed Iraq’s “remarkable victories against the forces of darkness and terrorism.”
U.S. commander General Michael Erik Kurilla said Khadija was “one of the most important ISIS members in the entire global ISIS organization.”
