Iraq and the USA report killing of IS-leaders Abu Khadija

The leader of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, “who is one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and worldwide”, was killed, as Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced on Friday. The news agency had previously reported.

Iraqi security forces killed Abdullah Muslih al-Rufaji, known as Abu Khadija, added to the US coalition that is fighting against the militant group, added Sudani.

Al-Rufaji, who was occupied by the United States in 2023, was the so-called governor of IS in the Syrian and Iraqi provinces, according to the Iraqi Prime Minister. He was therefore also responsible for coordinating foreign missions.

US President Donald Trump said that the “lifelong life” of the IS leader and another jihadist had ended in coordination with the Iraqi government and the Kurdish regional government.

The US Central Command published a video on X to show the air raid in the province of Al-Anbar. Accordingly, Al-Rufaji was the world’s number two in the IS militia.

IS had taken large areas of Iraq and neighboring Syria in 2014, proclaimed a caliphate there and spread fear and horror with its rule. In 2017, IS was defeated by Iraqi armed forces supported by a military coalition listed by the USA. However, IS cells are still active in Iraq and have occasional attacks on soldiers and police officers.

As part of the international coalition against IS militia listed by the USA, 2500 US soldiers are currently stationed in Iraq. At the end of September, the governments in Baghdad and Washington agreed that the anti-IS coalition ended its use in Iraq within a year and in September 2026 also withdrawn from the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq.