Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced Friday that Iraqi security forces, with support from the U.S.-led coalition, have killed Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rufay’i, also known as Abu Khadija, the leader of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
Al-Sudani described Abu Khadija as “one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world.” His death marks a significant blow to the group, which has been attempting to regain influence in the Middle East, the West, and Asia after losing its territorial control.
Islamic State ruled over millions in Iraq and Syria under strict Islamist governance before suffering major defeats. In 2014, former leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a caliphate over large areas of both countries, only to be killed in a U.S. special forces raid in northwest Syria in 2019 as the group collapsed.
The U.S. Central Command reported last July that Islamic State was working to “reconstitute following several years of decreased capability.” The assessment was based on the group’s claims of conducting 153 attacks in Iraq and Syria during the first half of 2024, a figure that, if sustained, would more than double the number of attacks recorded the previous year.
