Baghdad - The head of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria was eliminated in Iraq in an operation by members of the Iraqi national intelligence service along with U.S.-led coalition forces, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, announced Friday.
Confirming the death of Abu Khadija, US President Donald Trump said the ISIS commander and another operative of the terror outfit were killed in a joint operation carried out by the American, Iraqi and Kurdish forces.
President Trump from the official X account of President of the United States said, “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... PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH!"
Reportedly, the operation was carried out by an airstrike in Anbar province, in western Iraq. Some reports also claim that the attack too place on Thursday night but al-Rifai's death was confirmed on Friday.
Who was Abu Khadija?
Abu Khadija aka Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rufay’i was Born in 1991 and was considered "one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world," according to the Iraqi PM Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani. Khadija was regarded as the "Deputy Caliph" of ISIS.
Khadija joined al-Qaeda in 2009 and was arrested two years later. Khadija, soon managed to escape from Tasfirat prison. Khadija was in news again when the Islamic State conquered Saladin province in 2014.
Khadija was part of the Saad bin Abi Waqas Brigade and later joined the al-Qadisiyyah Division of Third Brigade, Abu Abdulla al-Ansari Battalion. Khadija went on to become the Kirkuk security chief before being appointed the "Wali of the Wilayat Iraq and Al-Sham, Blessed Land."
Khadija's influence within ISIS's structure meant that he was likely to become the next Islamic State caliph.
Abu Khadijah was the Chief of Global Operations for the Islamic State (ISIS) terror group and held the position of the group's second-in-command globally.
