Iraq
Aerial footage published by the US Central Command (CENTCOM) shows moments before an airstrike killed Abdullah Makki Muslih al-Rafiei, known as Abu Khadija, the Islamic State’s (ISIS) second-in-command globally and the group’s leader for Iraq and Syria, on March 15, 2025. Photo: CENTCOM/screengrab
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Islamic State’s (ISIS) second-in-command globally and the group’s top man in Iraq and Syria was killed on Friday in an operation that was the culmination of two years of investigations and raids by Iraqi, Kurdish, and international forces.
Abdullah Makki Muslih al-Rafiei, also known as Abu Khadija, was killed by a United States airstrike in Anbar province. He was chief of global operations and emir of a top ISIS committee.
“As the Emir of ISIS’ most senior decision-making body, Abu Khadijah maintained responsibility for operations, logistics, and planning conducted by ISIS globally, and directs a significant portion of finance for the group’s global organization,” the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.
Rafiei was a target for more than two years “and in the past six months, the noose has tightened around this terrorist,” the Iraqi military’s Joint Operations Command said in a statement.
Intelligence about him was gathered during operations in the Anbar desert, raids of ISIS hideouts across the country, and from a person close to Rafiei who was captured by the Kurdistan Region Security Council and handed over to Iraqi forces.
His location was determined and he was killed at 6:30 Friday evening in a “successful airstrike in the Anbar desert,” the Joint Operations Command said.
Video released by CENTCOM shows the moment of the airstrike on a moving vehicle.
Iraqi and American forces moved into the site of the airstrike and found the bodies of Rafiei and a second ISIS member, both wearing unexploded suicide vests and in possession of weapons, according to CENTCOM.
Iraqi forces said they also arrested seven ISIS suspects, including two women, accused of providing Rafiei with supplies. Based on intelligence gathered at the scene, five other wanted individuals were arrested in Erbil.
Rafiei was identified by matching his DNA with a sample collected from an earlier raid when he had escaped, CENTCOM said.
The United States in 2023 named Rafiei a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. Iraq’s Joint Operations Command described him as “one of the most important and dangerous terrorist elements in Iraq and the entire region.”
US President Donald Trump commented on the operation, saying on his Truth Social platform that Rafiei 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,” Trump said.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, when he first announced the operation on Friday, did not mention the Kurdish involvement, which drew the ire of the Kurdistan Region Security Council, who slammed Sudani and said their exclusion “is not a good indication for the future of cooperation between the regional and federal institutions.”
Deputy commander of Iraq’s Joint Operations Command Qais al-Muhammadawi did thank “the heroes of the Kurdistan Region (Asayish)” for their contribution by handing over another ISIS member close to Rafiei.
Iraq’s National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji also commended the operation, thanking the Kurdistan Region Security Council and the US-led coalition for their cooperation.
Erbil and Baghdad have coordinated many anti-ISIS operations in recent years.
ISIS seized control of swathes of territory in northern and central Iraq in 2014. Their so-called caliphate was brought to an end in 2017, but the group continues to pose a security threat particularly in the disputed territories that stretch across several provinces including Diyala, Salahaddin, Kirkuk, and Nineveh, as well as across the border in Syria.
On Sunday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein issued a stark warning about the growing threat posed by ISIS, saying it poses an increasing danger to Iraq, Jordan, and Syria.
Abdullah Makki Muslih al-Rafiei, also known as Abu Khadija, was killed by a United States airstrike in Anbar province. He was chief of global operations and emir of a top ISIS committee.
“As the Emir of ISIS’ most senior decision-making body, Abu Khadijah maintained responsibility for operations, logistics, and planning conducted by ISIS globally, and directs a significant portion of finance for the group’s global organization,” the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.
Rafiei was a target for more than two years “and in the past six months, the noose has tightened around this terrorist,” the Iraqi military’s Joint Operations Command said in a statement.
Intelligence about him was gathered during operations in the Anbar desert, raids of ISIS hideouts across the country, and from a person close to Rafiei who was captured by the Kurdistan Region Security Council and handed over to Iraqi forces.
His location was determined and he was killed at 6:30 Friday evening in a “successful airstrike in the Anbar desert,” the Joint Operations Command said.
Video released by CENTCOM shows the moment of the airstrike on a moving vehicle.
Iraqi and American forces moved into the site of the airstrike and found the bodies of Rafiei and a second ISIS member, both wearing unexploded suicide vests and in possession of weapons, according to CENTCOM.
Iraqi forces said they also arrested seven ISIS suspects, including two women, accused of providing Rafiei with supplies. Based on intelligence gathered at the scene, five other wanted individuals were arrested in Erbil.
Rafiei was identified by matching his DNA with a sample collected from an earlier raid when he had escaped, CENTCOM said.
The United States in 2023 named Rafiei a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. Iraq’s Joint Operations Command described him as “one of the most important and dangerous terrorist elements in Iraq and the entire region.”
US President Donald Trump commented on the operation, saying on his Truth Social platform that Rafiei 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,” Trump said.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, when he first announced the operation on Friday, did not mention the Kurdish involvement, which drew the ire of the Kurdistan Region Security Council, who slammed Sudani and said their exclusion “is not a good indication for the future of cooperation between the regional and federal institutions.”
Deputy commander of Iraq’s Joint Operations Command Qais al-Muhammadawi did thank “the heroes of the Kurdistan Region (Asayish)” for their contribution by handing over another ISIS member close to Rafiei.
Iraq’s National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji also commended the operation, thanking the Kurdistan Region Security Council and the US-led coalition for their cooperation.
Erbil and Baghdad have coordinated many anti-ISIS operations in recent years.
ISIS seized control of swathes of territory in northern and central Iraq in 2014. Their so-called caliphate was brought to an end in 2017, but the group continues to pose a security threat particularly in the disputed territories that stretch across several provinces including Diyala, Salahaddin, Kirkuk, and Nineveh, as well as across the border in Syria.
On Sunday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein issued a stark warning about the growing threat posed by ISIS, saying it poses an increasing danger to Iraq, Jordan, and Syria.
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