Iraqi PM announces killing of senior ISIS leader

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani on Friday announced the killing of senior Islamic State (ISIS) leader Abdullah Makki Muslih al-Rafiei, "one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world,” in an operation carried out with the support of the United States-led global coalition. 

Iraqi intelligence, with the support of the global coalition, "was able to kill the terrorist Abdullah Makki Muslih al-Rafiei, known as Abu Khadija, who holds the position of so-called deputy caliph and who holds the position of the so-called governor of Iraq and Syria,” Sudani said on X.

He did not reveal where or when the operation took place.

Sudani said that Rafiei also held other positions within the extremist group and was "one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world."

The United States in 2023 named Rafiei a Specially Designated Global Terrorist as an ISIS leader. 

Iraq’s Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein issued a stark warning on Sunday about the growing threat posed by ISIS, saying it poses an increasing danger to Iraq, Jordan, and Syria.

Speaking at a press conference following a summit in Amman, Hussein stressed the need for a joint international and regional effort to counter the growing risk posed by ISIS.

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.