Senior ISIS leader Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rufay’i, popularly known as Abu Khadija, was killed on March 13 in a precision airstrike in Iraq’s Anbar region, according to confirmation from the United States.
As the Deputy Caliph and leader of ISIS’s worldwide operations, Abu Khadija was the target of the operation, which was carried out by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) in coordination with Iraqi intelligence and Kurdish forces. Following the recovery of his body, DNA testing was used to authenticate his identification.
In a statement on Truth Social, U.S. President Donald Trump praised the participating forces, writing: “Today, the leader of ISIS on the run in Iraq was murdered. He was constantly pursued by our valiant warriors.”
Abu Khadija was in charge of ISIS’s international operations, funding, and logistics, according to CENTCOM, making him a crucial player in the organization’s attempts to regain its prominence on a worldwide scale.
Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, the prime minister of Iraq, acknowledged the murder and referred to him as one of the “most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and around the world.”
ISIS is still active in Iraq and Syria despite suffering severe territorial losses; CENTCOM has warned of a revival in response to reports of 153 attacks carried out by ISIS in the first half of 2024.
The commander of CENTCOM, General Michael Erik Kurilla, promised to keep up operations to destroy ISIS networks and get rid of any threats that remained.
Complete data of Abu Khadija:
Real name: Abdallah Makki al-Rufay’i Muslih:
Role: Deputy Leader and Chief of Global Operations for ISIS
Function: Oversaw ISIS’s global planning, logistics, and funding
Status: killed on March 13, 2025, in an American-Iraqi airstrike in Anbar.
DNA testing following the recovery of remains has been confirmed.
Although experts caution that ISIS continues to adapt and function through sleeper cells in Iraq and Syria, the most recent strike is viewed as a serious setback to the organization’s leadership.
