ISIS’s chief of global operations, the second in command for the terrorist group, was killed on Thursday in an American airstrike, U.S. Central Command said.
CENTCOM said late on Friday that it killed Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifai, also known as “Abu Khadijah,” in an attack on March 13 in the Anbar Province in western Iraq. He was killed while inside a car traveling through the Iraqi countryside
The U.S. described al-Rifai as “the Emir of ISIS’ most senior decision-making body” and said that he “maintained responsibility for operations, logistics, and planning conducted by ISIS globally, and directs a significant portion of finance for the group’s global organization.”
CENTCOM’s announcement comes after Iraq’s government first announced al-Rifai’s death earlier on March 14. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani called him “one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world.” The declaration came as envoys of the new Syrian government were in Baghdad for security talks tied to the fight against the terror group. al-Sudani claimed Iraqi security forces killed the ISIS leader, with “with the support and coordination of the Joint Operations Command and the International Coalition Forces,” but CENTCOM’s announcement paints a different picture.
In its announcement posted to X, CENTCOM shared video of the airstrike. It shows a vehicle by itself, hit in rapid succession by two munitions. Each hit caused a large explosion, suggesting that it was not the Hellfire R9X “flying Ginsu” missile, a popular tool in targeted airstrikes,” was not used. CENTCOM claimed that al-Rifai and one other ISIS member were the occupants of the car.
The U.S. also shared details on how al-Rifai and his companion were identified, something CENTCOM has been sparse with in past announcements. American and Iraqi forces arrived at the scene of the airstrike and compared DNA samples from the corpses with samples collected from a raid that al-Rifai escaped from previously. Both bodies were found wearing explosive vests that had not gone off, despite the two large explosions from the munitions. Inspectors also found multiple weapons in the vehicle.
Despite the fall of ISIS’s last stronghold in Syria, the U.S.-led coalition continues to hunt its members around the Middle East and Africa. The United States military has approximately 2,500 troops inside Iraq. The United States and its partners in Iraq as well as the Syrian Democratic Forces carried out several high-profile operations against ISIS in the Anbar Province and eastern Syria in the fall of 2024. Several large airstrikes followed in the winter, including some in central Syria around the time that the Assad regime collapsed to rebel forces that now make up that country’s government.