Head of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has been killed

Well, we are hearing more details from the Iraqi military as to exactly what happened in frankly the middle of the Anbar desert in western Iraq in the early hours of Thursday morning only coming to light on Saturday uh through this American statement. Now, the Iraqis referred to how this month operation took two months in the preparation of intelligence and targeting and how they were after four specific hideouts in that area. This is *** pretty sparsely populated part of Iraq, mostly desert as far as we can tell. And they seem to say that these hideouts were indeed camouflaged, suggesting possibly some sort of camp. Now this was hit by airstrikes at four o'clock in the morning, local time on Thursday followed up by it seems the airborne insertion of troops quite likely there were Americans involved in this raid because of the injuries we're hearing about uh that the Iraqis say led to 14 dead, one less than the American statements suggest. Uh And that the ISIS fighters there were found with explosive belts and hand grenades. Now they appear to have been uh the Iraqis following this raid up early Saturday morning at 4 a.m. arriving at the site to sort of look at the damage, do an assessment. Uh and that resulted in two further people being arrested early Saturday morning as well who appeared to have been trying to leave that area uh with important documents. The American statement more sparse referring to the seven injured and how two of those required further care. And in fact, two of the seven having fallen during the operation, perhaps not wounded as part of combat there. But frankly, this is clearly an example of an American raid with the Iraqis that did not go uh as according to plan. And *** sign, I think of how uh ferocious uh isis can still be in certain parts of Iraq and indeed Syria as well. In fact, Saint com recently have warned that defeat ISIS missions over the past six months, the first six months of 2024 causing 44 ISIS operatives to be killed and 100 and 60 detained uh the majority of those operations in Syria, but the majority of the ISIS dead operatives in Iraq. So clearly 2019 with the fall of Bagus and uh the remnants of the Caliphate has not heralded the end of the ISIS threat in either Iraq or Syria, which continues obviously here uh with the Americans warning that they are at this pace, looking to double potentially the number of ISIS operations they do compared to the same period in the previous year. Why Well, clearly, there has been an issue in Iraq and Syria where the defeat of the Caliphate itself was not followed through with lengthy political settlements or *** bid to try and remove the societal grievances that allowed the warped version of Islamism that is ISIS to take root in Iraq and Syria. And so they appear to have found *** space to regroup the repeat to deaths through us operations of ISIS leaders. There's been *** pause now, Abu Ibrahim Al Qureshi in charge for *** reasonable period of time with some analysts suggesting that has enabled some element of stability and regrouping. But we see ISIS uh at times through ISIS K or other groups uh associated with threats in Europe, often from teenagers, singular actors. It often seems unclear their relationship to the group uh in the Middle East. Uh But the Biden administration often suggesting that terrorism essentially as it used to be *** threat 10 years ago is now uh mostly under control. Yet we see in Central Asia at times in Russia, at times at singular moments. I in Europe, the persistent notion of the ISIS branding having traction with some individuals in instances like this in Iraq and Syria, *** reminder of how they retain an operating space uh in the Middle East. Still, Nick Paton, Walsh CNN London.

Updated: 12:16 AM CDT Mar 15, 2025

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Head of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has been killed

Updated: 12:16 AM CDT Mar 15, 2025

Editorial Standards ⓘ

The head of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has been killed in Iraq in an operation by members of the Iraqi national intelligence service along with U.S.-led coalition forces, the Iraqi prime minister announced Friday.“The Iraqis continue their impressive victories over the forces of darkness and terrorism,” Prime Minister Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said in a statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.Video above: Iraq: US, Iraqi officials operation against ISISAbdallah Maki Mosleh al-Rifai, or “Abu Khadija,” was “deputy caliph” of the militant group and as “one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world," the statement said.On his Truth Social platform Friday night, U.S. President Donald Trump said: “Today the fugitive leader of ISIS in Iraq was killed. He was relentlessly hunted down by our intrepid warfighters” in coordination with the Iraqi government and the Kurdish regional government.“PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH!” Trump posted.A security official said the operation was carried out by an airstrike in Anbar province, in western Iraq. A second official said the operation took place Thursday night but that al-Rifai's death was confirmed Friday. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.The announcement came on the same day as the first visit by Syria’s top diplomat to Iraq, during which the two countries pledged to work together.Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein said at a news conference that “there are common challenges facing Syrian and Iraqi society, and especially the terrorists of IS.” He said the officials had spoken “in detail about the movements of ISIS, whether on the Syrian-Iraqi border, inside Syria or inside Iraq” during the visit.Hussein referred to an operations room formed by Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon at a recent meeting in Amman to confront IS, and said it would soon begin work.The relationship between Iraq and Syria is somewhat fraught after the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad. Al-Sudani came to power with the support of a coalition of Iran-backed factions, and Tehran was a major backer of Assad. The current interim president of Syria, Ahmad al-Sharaa, was previously known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani and fought as an al-Qaida militant in Iraq after the U.S. invasion of 2003, and later fought against Assad's government in Syria.But Syrian interim Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani focused on the historic ties between the two countries.“Throughout history, Baghdad and Damascus have been the capitals of the Arab and Islamic world, sharing knowledge, culture and economy,” he said.Strengthening the partnership between the two countries “will not only benefit our peoples, but will also contribute to the stability of the region, making us less dependent on external powers and better able to determine our own destiny,” he said.The operation and the visit come at a time when Iraqi officials are anxious about an IS resurgence in the wake of the fall of Assad in Syria.Video below: U.S. launches strikes on 85 targets in Syria and Iraq While Syria’s new rulers — led by the Islamist former insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham - have pursued IS cells since taking power, some fear a breakdown in overall security that could allow the group to stage a resurgence.The U.S. and Iraq announced an agreement last year to wind down the military mission in Iraq of an American-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group by September 2025, with U.S. forces departing some bases where they have stationed troops during a two-decade-long military presence in the country.When the agreement was reached to end the coalition’s mission in Iraq, Iraqi political leaders said the threat of IS was under control and they no longer needed Washington’s help to beat back the remaining cells.But the fall of Assad in December led some to reassess that stance, including members of the Coordination Framework, a coalition of mainly Shiite, Iran-allied political parties that brought current Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani to power in late 2022. Associated Press staff writer Abby Sewell in Beirut contributed to this report.

BAGHDAD, Baghdad Governorate —

“The Iraqis continue their impressive victories over the forces of darkness and terrorism,” Prime Minister Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said in a statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Video above: Iraq: US, Iraqi officials operation against ISIS

Abdallah Maki Mosleh al-Rifai, or “Abu Khadija,” was “deputy caliph” of the militant group and as “one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world," the statement said.

On his Truth Social platform Friday night, U.S. President Donald Trump said: “Today the fugitive leader of ISIS in Iraq was killed. He was relentlessly hunted down by our intrepid warfighters” in coordination with the Iraqi government and the Kurdish regional government.

“PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH!” Trump posted.

A security official said the operation was carried out by an airstrike in Anbar province, in western Iraq. A second official said the operation took place Thursday night but that al-Rifai's death was confirmed Friday. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

The announcement came on the same day as the first visit by Syria’s top diplomat to Iraq, during which the two countries pledged to work together.

"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…
— President Donald J. Trump (@POTUS)

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein said at a news conference that “there are common challenges facing Syrian and Iraqi society, and especially the terrorists of IS.” He said the officials had spoken “in detail about the movements of ISIS, whether on the Syrian-Iraqi border, inside Syria or inside Iraq” during the visit.

Hussein referred to an operations room formed by Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon at a recent meeting in Amman to confront IS, and said it would soon begin work.

The relationship between Iraq and Syria is somewhat fraught after the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad. Al-Sudani came to power with the support of a coalition of Iran-backed factions, and Tehran was a major backer of Assad. The current interim president of Syria, Ahmad al-Sharaa, was previously known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani and fought as an al-Qaida militant in Iraq after the U.S. invasion of 2003, and later fought against Assad's government in Syria.

But Syrian interim Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani focused on the historic ties between the two countries.

“Throughout history, Baghdad and Damascus have been the capitals of the Arab and Islamic world, sharing knowledge, culture and economy,” he said.

Strengthening the partnership between the two countries “will not only benefit our peoples, but will also contribute to the stability of the region, making us less dependent on external powers and better able to determine our own destiny,” he said.

The operation and the visit come at a time when Iraqi officials are anxious about an IS resurgence in the wake of the fall of Assad in Syria.

Video below: U.S. launches strikes on 85 targets in Syria and Iraq

While Syria’s new rulers — led by the Islamist former insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham - have pursued IS cells since taking power, some fear a breakdown in overall security that could allow the group to stage a resurgence.

The U.S. and Iraq announced an agreement last year to wind down the military mission in Iraq of an American-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group by September 2025, with U.S. forces departing some bases where they have stationed troops during a two-decade-long military presence in the country.

When the agreement was reached to end the coalition’s mission in Iraq, Iraqi political leaders said the threat of IS was under control and they no longer needed Washington’s help to beat back the remaining cells.

But the fall of Assad in December led some to reassess that stance, including members of the Coordination Framework, a coalition of mainly Shiite, Iran-allied political parties that brought current Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani to power in late 2022.

Associated Press staff writer Abby Sewell in Beirut contributed to this report.

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